Frozen Nightmares
by SapphireIceheartt
Summary: A new Lich King(Queen) reigns over the Scourge, and she is finding the job is not a walk in the park. Plagued by nightmares and troubled memories, she must find her father's stolen body and discover what her mother is planning. A sequel to Frozen Revolution.
1. Chapter 1

_Blood dripped down the walls, and pooled onto the floor. Sapphire took a step forward. She looked at the blood with a horrible feeling. Her boots squelched as she walked through the blood. Sapphire breathed heavily, feeling fear inside of her. From the other end of the hall, Sapphire could hear sobbing. She walked faster. Lights flickered, and chains rattled somewhere.  
><em>

_Where was she?_

_Something crunched under her feet, and she looked down. A skull, broken and forgotten, lay on the bloodstained floor.  
><em>

_"Sapphire..." Something pitiful whispered. It came from an opening. A door creaked on its broken hinges. The dripping of blood was louder._

_A body lay on a pile of bones and bits of flesh. It did not move. Sapphire stared at it. With some hesitation, she walked toward it. The blood got deeper, and had a current to it like a river. Sapphire sloshed through it._

_Climbing up onto the bones, Sapphire made her way to the body, and knelt down next to it. She reached out to touch it. It moved._

_A rotting, bloodied ghoul that looked eerily like her father grabbed her by the throat. She struggled, but the ghoul's claws dug into her throat and choked her. She tried to pry its hand off of her, but as soon as she touched its arm, her skin rotted, sloughing off her bones. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Desperate, Sapphire kicked at the ghoul, and both of them fell into the river._

_Sapphire gasped, and blood covered her face, went down her throat. She squirmed in the ghoul's grip, drowning in the blood. She was blinded, and everything was going dark. Someone laughed._

* * *

><p>Sapphire woke up screaming. Sweat dripped from her face, and her head was splitting in two with the pain. The room was completely dark, and Sapphire suddenly panicked. She had no idea what was in the room. Quickly, she felt around for Ethan. He wasn't there.<p>

"Ethan? Ethan!"

A second later though, the doors were thrown open, spilling light into the room and temporarily blinding Sapphire. Several deathknights came rushing in.

"Master!" One exclaimed.

She shook her head, and collapsed back onto her pillows. Tears ran down her face. The deathknights all looked to each other, concerned. Sapphire could hear every undead's thoughts and emotions.

_The Master has been having all of these horrible nightmares. If only there was something we could do, _one of the deathknights was thinking.

One undead working on a new house in New Alterac. I_ think a bit more to the left- _

Another thought, this time from a deathknight, was full of anger. That_ ghoul is such an idiot-_

_What does this spell require again? Ugh, I can never remember-_

"_Shut up!_" Sapphire snapped, her voice taking on a deeper, darker tone and echoing in her mind. Every single undead grew silent.

There were loud footsteps, and Ethan came into the room, sword in hand. He saw no danger, and put it back in its sheathe.

"What happened? I was reading to Arty and Calia...Are you all right?" Ethan demanded, coming over to Sapphire. He pulled her into a hug. Sapphire jerked away from him, and stood up. She stumbled, and picked up the Helm of the Lich King. Which she now was.

* * *

><p>Darion hit Sapphire with his sword, and the force of the blow made Sapphire go flying. She hit the ground hard, her armor scraping against the metal floor. Pain shot up in the arm, and she cried out.<p>

"Told you kid. Should have stuck with magic."

"I think you are right," Sapphire admitted, wincing. She tried to get up, but the armor prevented her. They were in a room with forges, with undead tending them. Armor and weapons were on racks, waiting to be used. She had only went to Darion because she felt he was the only one that would cheer her up. He hadn't. Darion came over to stand next to her, grinning maliciously.

"Having trouble...Lich King?"

Sapphire glared at him. "No."

Darion just shrugged, and walked off. Rot came walking over to Sapphire, and sniffed her. He then started licking her vulnerable face. Sapphire struggled to get up, turning around on her side and then onto her stomach, to then pushing up with her arms and sitting up. Rot woofed, and climbed into her lap. He sat there, panting heavily. Sapphire grabbed him, and picked him up. Some of his intestines were spilling out of his stomach again.

"Did you rip your stitching again?" Sapphire said, exasperated. Rot whined.

Forcing herself to stand, Sapphire clutched the plaguehound tightly, and left the room. Her sword, which had not once hit Darion, or anything for that matter, was laying on the ground. On the way, she picked up her Helm.

Sapphire took Rot to the nearest place in Icecrown Citadel to fix Rot. Kel'thuzad's part of the Citadel.

She smelled noxious fumes before she even entered the area. She sighed, and hugged Rot tightly. The puppy woofed. Kel'thuzad was working over a cauldron of bubbling green liquid. Sapphire put Rot next to a bunch of vials of brightly colored liquids. She put her Helm next to Rot, who sniffed it. Then, he started licking the metal.

"Stay," Sapphire threatened Rot. He looked at her, and stuck his tongue out in a dimwitted looking face. Sapphire ignored him and turned to the lich that hadn't yet acknowledged her presence.

Sapphire leaned against the table and folded her arms. "Kel'thuzad."

"Hmm?" The lich looked up from a book in his bony hands.

"I let you have some liberties and the least you could do is notice when I walk through the door. Where is a needle and surgical thread? Rot's torn up his belly."

The lich pointed. "Over there."

Sapphire went to cabinet full of surgical supplies. She pushed the scalpels aside, scowled at the sight of several cockroaches, and upon finding the needle and thread, went back to Rot. He laid down on his back, and let Sapphire sew him back up.

"What do you keep doing that rips your stitches out?"

Rot barked, and tilted his head.

A cat hopped up onto the table, and hissed at Rot. Another one joined it. They both looked highly upset. Rot twisted around onto his feet, and growled. He barked angrily, and lunged at them. They jumped out of the way, and Rot smashed into a case of vials. It fell to the ground, and liquid splashed everywhere. Some splashed onto Sapphire, and she yelped, for as soon as the liquid touched her, her skin started sizzling.

Rot chased the cats, but Kel'thuzad intervened, picking both up.

"Mrs. Norris! Azrael! Are you two all right? Did that evil mutt hurt you?" He said in an affectionate tone.

Sapphire, who was currently washing her wounds, looked at him oddly. "Don't you have a dog now? I thought you liked dogs."

"Not that thing!" Kel'thuzad said, pointing to Rot. The puppy huffed at the lich indignantly, and looked at Sapphire.

Sapphire picked up Rot. "You should know better."

Rot stuck his tongue out, and woofed. Sapphire hugged him, and looked at Kel'thuzad.

"Uh...Kel'thuzad? Do you know if my father ever had nightmares as the Lich King?"

"Why, because you had one this morning?" He said, looking amused.

Sapphire scowled. "Never mind..."

She left the room, slamming the doors.

* * *

><p>Ethan watched Sapphire come into the war room. He had been talking to a cultist, but Sapphire showed up unexpectedly. She was clutching Rot, and the Helm. She put both on the table. Rot went over to the cultist, and woofed curiously. He wagged his tail, and the cultist pet the puppy.<p>

"What's going on?" Sapphire asked.

Ethan nervously looked at her. "Uh. We found the ship your...mother stole."

Sapphire straightened up, and looked at him hard. "Where is it?"

He tried to think of a way to break it to her, but the cultist answered his master.

"Gilneas, Master."

Sapphire took a deep breath. Ethan thought that she was handling it very well. She had gotten teary-eyed every time her mother or father. No tears shone in her eyes now. Rot came over to her, and nudged her stomach with his nose. She picked him back up, and hugged him.

"I guess we are heading to Gilneas then."

Ethan stood up. "No, no! I will be heading to Gilneas. You are not. You stay right here."

Rot whimpered, and hopped out of Sapphire's arms. He cowered under a chair, looking terrified.. Sapphire planted both hands on the table.

"You either let me come with you, or I will go with your father."

Ethan narrowed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

After some thought and encouragement, I decided the best thing to do was finish this. It would be better to write instead of do nothing. Writing is one of the things that I love, and giving up on it is stupid. I tried writing some things, and found it wasn't nearly as tear inducing as I thought it'd be. Writing helps me, so I will try to finish this. Of all people, my brother told me to keep at it. For him to say that, I knew I should continue.

And at the last dinner I had with my father...He actually read some of your reviews from the last story. And he did read those reviews that some of you wrote when Sylvanas died...Yeah, he read those. That memory makes me want to continue too.

I took down that author's note, but here it is.

_My father died last night. He had left on a trip days ago, telling me it was business trip. It wasn't. I don't have the exact details, but he was going out to dinner when he had a heart attack. His second. It was in the same city he had his first, when I was about ten. I thought when the police came and said the name of the hospital, I thought he had just had another heart attack and would recover like before. He didn't. He was alone. My father was a very secretive man, but I loved him. He was the best thing in my life. I don't know what's going to happen to me now, but I wanted you all to know I am stopping the fanfictions. I made my father my favorite character in the game to show how much I loved him. He wasn't like Arthas at all. He was a judgmental but loving father. He was more than my father, more than my best friend. He was like my other half._

_I am terribly sorry. In the future, if I ever recover from my heart being ripped in two, I will finish this story. I love you guys. I have no friends in real life, I suffer from depression and mental illness. Even if you never reviewed, I am glad you read my stories. I'm sorry. Thank you for all that you have done._

_Love, Sapphire Iceheartt_

* * *

><p>Sapphire opened up a door, and was drenched in warm sticky honey. Then, someone tossed a bag full of feathers at her. There was burst of laughter, and Sapphire looked at all of the dark-haired, muscular deathknights. Two of the three were laughing until the silent one hit the others and pointed angrily at Sapphire. They looked at her, and gasped.<p>

"Uh oh!"

The men stood there, suddenly looked ashamed. The youngest of them, took a step forward.

"We thought you were Ethan, little sister!"

Sapphire sighed and wiped some of the honey out of her eyes. "Edmund...Franz, Jonas. At least you aren't as bad as Adalger. But you did leave Ethan to that monster."

The response was immediate. All of the deathknights looked at each other angrily. The eldest came over to Sapphire, and took her by the arm.

"Our oldest brother was a monster. He terrorized us all of the time, but Ethan had the worst of it. We were all cowards, so we did not help Ethan. Trust me, we are truly ashamed."

"It's okay, Franz. Ethan forgave you, and you forgave him for killing all of you," Sapphire said, wiping more of the honey off of her face.

Edmund snorted. "Well, Ethan slit Jonas's throat, so he can't really say anything. We assume he forgave him."

They looked at the silent deathknight. He looked at her, and shrugged. His throat had been sewn back together, and all that could be seen was a thin line across the skin. But the muscles had rotted away too much for him to speak. Sapphire gave him an apologetic look. "None of the cultist have been able to fix his throat yet?"

Edmund shook his head. "No. To be fair, Jonas was always a talker. It's a bit of a relief."

Jonas scowled, and jumped at Edmund. Sapphire jumped back, and the two fell to the ground. They rolled around on the ground, fighting fiercely. Franz folded his arms.

"So immature. Come on, little sister. Mother can clean you up."

* * *

><p>Warm water spilled over Sapphire's head. Gentle hands touched her hair, and cleaned the honey out of the snow white hair. Feathers floated in the tub. Sapphire looked at the water, scowling.<p>

"I'm sorry about my sons. They can be quite childish sometimes," Said the one that was cleaning the honey out of Sapphire's hair. The voice was soft and quiet. According to Ethan, it was always quiet. His mother had never yelled or raised her voice a day in her life.

Sapphire looked at the woman. Her skin was pale, but unlike Sapphire's iced skin, her mother-in-law's had a tinge of pink in it, even though both woman had the exact same blood now. Their hair were complete opposite, the older woman's hair was as dark as Ethan's, pinned up into a bun. She wore it like that all of the time, and at first seemed afraid of Sapphire with her loose, unkempt hair. But they had some things in common, so they were friends now. While Sapphire was struggling with the powers of the Lich King, at least Ethan didn't have to worry about Sapphire and his mother getting along.

"Sapphire, did you hear me?"

The girl looked up from the water. "Huh?"

"I said you should try brushing your hair more. Then it wouldn't be so difficult to be cleaning out this honey. Are you all right? Ethan says your are having trouble sleeping."

"Yeah...I'm fine," Sapphire murmured.

Ethan's mother didn't pursue it. She just continued cleaning Sapphire's hair. Sapphire felt the silence in her heart, and sighed.

"I'm dreaming of blood, pain, and death. Ethan's being overprotective, Kel'thuzad is taking notes on everything, and all the undead are suffering because I am!"

Before Ethan's mother could say anything, there was a knock on the door. The older woman dried her hands on a towel, and went over to the door.

"Who is it?"

"Mom...It's me. Ethan."

Ethan's mother opened the door, and Ethan came in. He looked exhausted. His mother hugged him.

"Hello, Ethy. I was just cleaning up Sapphire from an encounter with your brothers."

He looked over to Sapphire, and saw the feathers and golden clumps of honey in Sapphire's hair. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Sapphire grabbed a bottle of liquid, and looked at it. Shampoo that smelled like strawberries. Sapphire got a bit of the stuff, and rubbed it into her hair. She heard Ethan and his mother talking, but Sapphire dunked her head into the water. She submerged completely, and cleaned her hair. She looked up at the surface of the water, seeing everything distorted. Sapphire laid her head against the side of the bathtub, and closed her eyes.

She heard a splash, and a hand grabbed her by the shoulder. Sapphire opened her eyes, and sat back up, surfacing again.

"Don't do that ever again," Ethan said. Sapphire stared at him.

"All right. It's not like I need to breath."

"Yes, but it makes everyone uncomfortable. Including me," Ethan said, a hint of begging in his voice. Sapphire looked up at him. He looked tired, bags under his eyes and his body tense. Sapphire took his hand.

"All right. I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>Serenity looked up at her mother with her large, bright blue eyes.<p>

"Please, Momma. Don't go. I don't want to stay with Lethumo. Can't I stay with Kel'thuzad? Or Grandpa Randall?"

Sapphire looked over to Ethan. He was talking to his brothers, but he had tensed up at his father's name. They were in the main hall of the Citadel, getting ready to head off to Gilneas. Sapphire was wrapped up in fur and leather armor. She had the Helm in her backpack. Ethan was in heavy saronite armor, like his brothers. Invincible was pawing the metal floor with his hooves impatiently. Mystery was acting flirtatious around him, but the undead horse wasn't interested. Sapphire turned back to Serenity.

"Randall is too busy, and I don't trust Kel'thuzad to take care of a child. He might accidently dissect you."

Her daughter frown. "How would anyone accidently-"

"You know what I mean. He's very indifferent. If you get annoyed with Lethumo, just have Blight take you on the train to Bolvar. He's having to deal with your aunt right now, but he will take care of you."

Serenity suddenly gasped. "What's wrong with Aunt Calia?"

Sapphire pat her daughter on the head. "Triplets, if the doctor is right."

The little girl grew wide-eyed. "Oh! Oh, that's so nice! Can I name one?"

"No. They already have the names, no matter what the genders. Bolvar wants all girls, Calia wants at least one son," Sapphire said, smiling.

"If any of the them are girls, I'll teach them to be smart like you, Mom. And if any of them are boys, I'll teach them to be nice like Dad," Serenity said, confidence in her eyes. Sapphire saw Calia and Arty coming by, so she kissed Serenity on the forehead and told her goodbye. The girl went over to Ethan and started talking.

Calia looked angry. "I want to go with you! I wanna fight some stuff."

Arty was staring at his feet. His dog, Alfie, was sitting next to him patiently. Sapphire looked at Arty.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

The boy looked up. "I don't want you to go. Can't you stay?"

"No, Arty. I have to go find your grandfather and...grandmother. And Angelica. Don't worry. We'll be back soon. I love you..."

Arty hugged Sapphire. "Love you too, Momma."

Sapphire looked up, and saw the grinning visage of Lethumo. The night elf was leaning against the wall, holding an armful of wine bottles.

"Relax, Sapphire. They'll be safe with me."

She stared at him for a couple of seconds, looked at his supply of wine, then stood up. "Never mind, kids. You can stay with Kel'thuzad instead. Stay away from sharp objects and glowing liquids and you'll be fine. Lethumo is coming with "

Serenity raised her arms. "Yay!"

Calia stomped her foot. "Aw...Lethumo was going to teach me to throw knifes into people's eyes."

* * *

><p>In a dark forest, a ruined castle was crumbling from old age. Stones were scattered around the dead grass. Undead, most recently raised up, walked among the stones, rusted old pieces of armor, and other artifacts of habitation. The main part of the castle was still mostly intact, and the entrances were guarded by undead. There were a few living people, dressed in all black.<p>

A hyena trotted through the ruins, making laughing sounds. It looked around curiously around the castle, growling at undead and living alike. In it's mouth, there were a bundle of rotted flowers, petals curled up and black.

The hyena went to the main doors of the castle, and didn't even look at the undead guarding there. It went through the dark halls, walked over the soggy, rotten remains of carpets. Tapestries hug in tatters on mossy walls. Rats scurried away from the hyena.

The mangy creature went to a small room, brightly lit with more furnishings, but still smelling of mold. A little girl with golden hair and bright eyes was laying on a bed, but sat up at the hyena's entrance.

"Marwyn! You brought me flowers."

The deathknight, magically turned into an animal, hopped up onto the bed. He gave the girl the flowers. She kissed the hyena on the nose.

"Tanomoan! Look what Marwyn brought me."

From a door that connected two rooms together, Tanomoan looked out. He was in his child form, with large yellow eyes, a thin pale body, and dressed in gaudy, rich clothing. He looked like a brat, but Angelica thought he was perfect. Marwyn snorted, baring his teeth at the dragon.

A roar echoed through the castle, full of anger and pain.

Angelica quickly put her flowers in a vase of water, and ran off. "Dad's awake!"


	3. Chapter 3

Nicci had not wanted this. She knew this was wrong. What had happened to Arthas?

The white worgen snarled at her, and fought against its chains. Foam dripped from its slavering jaws, and the muzzle looked ready to break. Nicci saw that the worgen was glaring at her with its glowing eyes. It was angry, having been chained up all day and not fed.

His arms, legs and neck were shackled with thick, heavy saronite chains. He wasn't able to move more than a couple of inches, but the look of him was terrifying enough. He looked like he could break the chains easily, even though he couldn't.

"Arthas! Show me that you are still in there. You are not this," Nicci begged. As she got closer to the cage bars, Arthas growled. He tried to lunge at her, but the chains just groaned in protest. Nicci gave him a sad look.

"Arthas...Please."

There was a hard knock on the door. Nicci, trying hard not to cry, left the room. Falric grabbed her by the arm.

"Jaina is coming. She'll be pissed at seeing us. Come on," The deathknight snarled. His expression was steely. He took her into a dark corner of the hall, and both of them stood quietly.

There were soft footsteps coming down the halls, and Jaina came down. Nicci rarely saw her anymore. The mage had convinced Nicci to leave with her to save Arthas, but this wasn't saving him to Nicci. She had brought Marwyn, Falric, and Autum into it too, the deathknights loyal to Arthas, and Autum following Falric. Poor Angelica was deluded.

Jaina walked down to the door to Arthas's cell. Nicci looked at her. The other woman had sallow skin, and her bones were prominent in her wrists and arms. Her hair was streaked with grime, and was stringy.

Falric scowled, but kept calm.

When Jaina entered the room, Nicci had been willing to leave and wait to see Arthas again, but then her heart broke at the sound of terrified whimpering and growling. There were whines and yelps.

"Arthas?" Nicci cried out, but Falric dragged her away.

"No! No, can't you hear that? What is she doing to him?"

Falric grabbed her, and carried her up the stairs. "Shut up, woman. We'll figure something out. Jaina will kill you if you try to stop her."

"Fucking traitor!" Nicci snapped, but Falric dropped her.

"Me? I'm not a traitor. You think I enjoy this? Jaina's a manipulative bitch. But I have Autum to think about. I stand up to Jaina, and she will have her revenge. Trust me."

"Arthas is being tortured. He doesn't even know who he is!"

Nicci pushed Falric away, and sat down against the wall. She hugged herself, and gave the deathknight a dark look. Falric rolled his eyes.

"Women...You're all mental. You need to be all locked up."

Nicci smiled weakly. "Even Autum?"

"Especially her! She's still trying to convince to adopt a snot-nosed little child. She tries to convince me to move to Tanaris and live on a beach. Trust me, deathknights don't tan well."

Nicci shook her head. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but refused to let them fall. She looked up at Falric. He was angry. Arthas was his master, not Jaina. He was loyal to Arthas no matter what, and had been for years.

"Falric. We need to help him. I don't care what Jaina does to me. She can't hurt me."

The deathknight folded his arms. He looked at Nicci hard. "We will...And you need to tell Marwyn that you don't like him."

Nicci shook her head. "No. I like him all right. Marwyn doesn't like me. He is..."

The woman sighed. She had promised Marwyn not to say anything.

Falric scowled. He paced back and forth. "Well. I'll talk to him. But I suppose we should come up with a plan."

There was a slam of a door. Soon, Jaina was coming up the stairs again. She saw Falric pacing, and Nicci sitting against the wall. Jaina smiled. Nicci felt sick to her stomach.

* * *

><p>"Calia! Don't touch that vial of Stonelash Scorpid venom."<p>

The little girl stopped, and stared haughtily at Kel'thuzad. The lich folded his skeletal arms and returned the look. Arty, hugging his dog Alfie, watched the two, frightened. Serenity was making a potion Kel'thuzad taught her, a simple health draught. She looked over at her little sister.

"Come on, Calia. Momma told us to stay away from the bad stuff. Listen to Great Grandpa Kel. How about you come over and help me?" The older girl said. Calia scrunched up her face.

"Fine."

Kel'thuzad sighed in relief and looked to the male children. Arty smiled, and Terenas didn't look up from a map he was reading.

"What are you doing boy?" The lich asked.

"Studying. It's a map of Northrend."

Kel'thuzad wasn't interested in that. He turned to the other children. Serenity smiled at the lich. A cat hopped up onto the table, and rubbed its head on Serenity's arm. Mr. Bigglesworth meowed happily. He was looking much better when Kel'thuzad had first been reunited with him. His fur was clean and fluffed, and he had gained several pounds back. The cat had been happy to see Kel'thuzad, but Mr. Bigglesworth was hanging around Serenity more than he did with the lich.

Serenity picked the cat up, and kissed him affectionately. She cradled him in her arms.

"Hello, Mr. Bigglesworth! How are you today, fluffy kitty? Here, Let's go get some milk together."

She hugged the cat tightly, and left the room. Several other cats followed her, meowing.

Calia scowled. "I don't like cats. They smell."

Then, she turned into her worgen form, and growled at Kel'thuzad. She bared her tiny teeth. With a leap, the worgen pup jumped to the floor and ran off. Arty watched his twin sister run off, then looked at Kel'thuzad.

"Aren't...Aren't you gonna go get her?"

The lich opened up a book of spells, and shrugged. "I'm not being paid enough to chasing after little monsters like your sister. Besides, she will get bored and come back, probably demanding what poisons are best to be put on daggers. She's a vicious creature."

Arty looked over at Terenas. The older boy looked at Arty, and shrugged. He put away the map, and stood up.

"Come on, Arthas. Let's go find Calia before she terrorizes everyone in the Citadel."

* * *

><p>Blight heard Serenity singing in the halls, and panicked. He scrabbled away, hiding behind a gargoyle. He clutched the brightly wrapped present in his paws.<p>

Serenity came skipping down the hall, hugging a cat, and being followed by several more. Blight watched, nervously twitching his tail.

All of a sudden the stony gargoyle decided being used as a hiding place was degrading, and it came to life, flying off. Blight squealed, and curled up into a ball. He covered himself with his wings.

"Blight?"

The dragon looked up. He tilted his head and decided to act relaxed. "Oh...Hello. I didn't see you there."

Serenity raised her eyebrows, and Mr. Bigglesworth didn't look impressed. Blight sat there on his haunches, suddenly lost. He didn't know what to do. Serenity saw the present though, and smiled.

"Ooh, who's that for?"

Blight perked up. He felt a bit proud at what he had made, and wanted her to like it. "You! I made it for you. Here."

The girl put down the cat, who hissed. She took the present, and ripped open the wrapping. She opened the box, and gasped. Reaching in, Serenity pulled out a fragile golden flower, its petals made of metal.

"Oh, it's so pretty. You made this?"

The dragon nodded. Serenity found the stem, and put it into her hair. She smiled. "How do I look?"

Blight opened his mouth, and whimpered. "Uh...Good. You look good."

He was suddenly embarrassed that he couldn't think of something impressive to say.

Serenity smiled, and picked up Mr. Bigglesworth. "Come on, Blight. I'm going to go get a drink of milk. You want some?"

The dragon grinned, and nodded vigorously. "Sure!"

Mr. Bigglesworth hissed angrily.


	4. Chapter 4

_Rot was licking Sapphire's face. She smiled, and ruffled the dog's fur. His tail wagged happily, little bones clicking. Rot woofed, licking Sapphire some more._

_She pushed him gently away, and tried to take stock of her surroundings. __Lying in a snow bank, Sapphire saw nothing but snow and ice. Icy plains stretched on for miles, Nothing could be heard but the wind._

_With a bark, Rot ran off. He twirled around, tail moving furiously._

_"Rot...come back."_

_The dog didn't listen, like he always did. He hopped around. The animal sniffed, and there was a crumbling sound._

_A cloud of snow exploded next to Rot. A muzzle with razor sharp teeth grabbed Rot._

_Sapphire screamed, "Rot!"_

_A large worgen, pure white and filled with rage. He picked up Rot, who was crying out. The worgen bit down, and there was a large crunching sound. Rot squirmed frantically, yipping._

_Sapphire couldn't move. She tried to, fighting against it, but all she could to is watch._

_Blood fell down like a waterfall from Rot. He made horrible noises._

_"No! Let him go!" Sapphire cried out._

_The worgen tore Rot in half with a crack and ripping sounds. Sapphire screamed. Organs fell out of Rot's body. The worgen dropped him, and growled at Sapphire. It lunged at her, and bit down onto her neck._

* * *

><p>Sapphire sat up gasping. She looked around.<p>

Rot, intact and not in pain, came over to her, woofing. He climbed onto her, and licked her face. Sapphire hugged him, and kissed him on his nose, his head, and his bony paw. Rot looked confused, but let her do it.

Sapphire let him go, and the puppy curled up next to the Helm, which was laying near Sapphire's bedroll. Rain fell onto the tent's fabric, and dreary grey light shone through the tent flaps. Sapphire moved in her bedroll, and saw a mess of black hair in the one next to her. Sapphire smiled.

"Ethan..."

_Please don't tell me you are going to seduce my grandson. I don't want to see that_, Kel'thuzad mentally chided her. There were other voices too, but Sapphire was trying to ignore them. Some undead were mining saronite so they were singing a horrible mining song. Sapphire winced.

_Shut up. How are the children?_

_...Fine_, the lich said hesitantly. Sapphire looked at what he was seeing. Serenity was drinking some milk and eating cookies with Blight. The twilight dragon was acting nervous. Sapphire knew the dragon had a crush on Serenity. She knew Serenity had a crush on him too. Ethan had thought Serenity liked Tanomoan, but she thought he was stupid. That had relieved Ethan.

Sapphire couldn't see Arty, Terenas, or Calia, but she wasn't too worried.

R_emember, Calia and Arty like to be read a book before going to bed. I suggest that story with the blood elf princess. Calia likes the violence in it, and Arty likes the talking dragonhawk._

What Sapphire got from Kel'thuzad was a feeling of disgust and annoyance. That was enough to reassure Sapphire. She looked at Ethan. She slipped partially out of her bedroll, and wrapped her arms around his body. She cuddled up against him.

"Ethan, wake up."

He moved, and turned to face her. He was thinner, and with more finer bones than Ethan. Edmund grinned.

"Oh, hello there."

* * *

><p>Ethan heard Sapphire's scream and scowled. It was followed by cursing and loud noises.<p>

"What the fuck is wrong with you! You sick, perverted, disturbed, son of a-"

Franz and Jonas both laughed, one silent and the other uproarious. They were standing on the edge of the camp, patrolling. Undead all sat at fires, or were out on scouting parties.

Gilneas was dreary, and uninhabited. It had been raining ever since they had arrived. Fog blurred everything, and made the light dull and pale. They were in the outskirts of a village, the buildings run down but intact. Ethan had been planning on exploring the village the next day. So far, not a trace of Jaina had been found besides her ship. It had been abandoned.

Ni'kua had not been seen. Ethan had given him one of Jaina's robes to sniff, and the plaguehound had went off to find her scent. He had not yet returned.

Sapphire had wanted to fly around and scout more, but Ethan had kept her grounded. She got easily distracted by the thoughts of thousands of undead. The only time she'd been in her owl form since taking the Helm, she'd flown into a saronite wall because the voices were so loud and she had been seeing several views at once. Her beak had been bleeding when Ethan found her, and when she'd changed back, it had been her nose that was bleeding. She'd broken it. The doctor that always tended to her gave Ethan a glare and ordered no more flying.

So, instead of helping find her mother, Sapphire had been examining the ruins of the village. She'd found some poisonous plants, and taken seed from them. She'd found edible mushrooms to take back to Northrend. She'd also killed some spiders and taken vials of their venom.

After a tiring day, she'd retired to the tent and fell asleep. Edmund had wanted to prank her when she woke, but when he crawled out of the tent, Edmund was not laughing.

He got to his feet, and winced, clutching his crotch. He came over to his brothers slowly, and sat down. Ethan looked at him, folding his arms.

"Told you. You're lucky she didn't kill you."

Edmund didn't bother replying. He laid down on the ground, and groaned.

Sapphire came out of her tent, hugging Rot. "Ethan Bernard Wolfgang Calwood! You get over here right now!"

Ethan scowled. "I'm going to murder my father for telling her my full name."

"Come on, Bernard Wolfgang. Your sweetheart wants you," Franz said mockingly.

Ethan walked off, muttering curses. Edmund had recovered a bit and was laughing. Ethan looked back, and with one hand, gestured rudely at his brothers, before running over to talk to Sapphire.

"Your brothers are crazy," Sapphire said accusingly.

"I know. I'll talk to them."

* * *

><p>Angelica opened up the door, and giggled. "Daddy!"<p>

The worgen was sitting on the floor of a bright, warm room. Red carpet covered the floor. A fire was burning in a large fireplace. Angelica went over to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. The worgen made an contented growl, and loved up against Angelica. She petted him, and tugged at his ears. She tugged at the metal collar around his neck, and scratched his fur.

"Dad, why don't you talk anymore? Ethy can talk as a worgen. Why can't you?"

The worgen didn't reply. He just sniffed Angelica's hair. He licked her.

Angelica giggled. "Okay...I guess you lost your voice. I love you anyway, Daddy. Guess what? Today Marwyn gave me flowers."

The worgen suddenly growled, and left Angelica. It agitatedly paced around the room. He climbed onto the made up bed with drapes and silken blankets. The little girl frowned, and came over to him.

"I guess you don't really like flowers, do you? Well, Tanomoan is very nice. Do you like Tanomoan, Dad?"

The worgen laid down, and put his paws over his ears. He whined. Angelica frowned.

"Dad?"

The door opened, and Jaina came walking in. Angelica looked at her.

"Does Dad not feel good?" She asked. Jaina looked at the worgen, and went over to him. She rubbed his head, and the worgen instantly jerked up into a sitting position. He woofed, and panted.

"Look, he's fine. Why don't you play with him? Arthas, sweetie, play fetch with your daughter."

The worgen bowed its head, and crawled over to Angelica. The girl looked confused, but didn't question her father's strange behavior.


	5. Chapter 5

Good news. I have been working on my real story, pruning and polishing it. I have it nearly ready to put on Amazon Kindle.

* * *

><p>The worgen sniffed.<p>

Below him, there was a village full of undead. There was a statue in the village. The worgen looked at it, and recognized who it was. He snarled.

His stomach was empty and he was starving. All that he had been allowed to eat since he was reawakened was long dead, and rotten. But he really wanted fresh, hot blood. The nearest fresh meat and blood was standing next to him.

Turning toward the female, the worgen hunkered down, and curled up on the ground. He watched her warily.

"Hungry, Arthas?"

The worgen bared his teeth.

"Don't want undead? Well, if you kill them all, I might let you have fresher meat."

Arthas snarled, and stood up on all fours. Saliva dripped down his jaws.

_Bitch..._

Excruciating pain made Arthas howl in pain, and he went off at a sprint to the village.

Undead saw the massive worgen coming, but he was fast. He slashed at one, ripping through armor and flesh. He snarled, and ripped out the undead's throat.

Something stuck in his fur, and Arthas turned. An arrow had been shot at him. The worgen snarled, and found the undead that shot him.

He ran at it, and was shot again. Arthas grabbed the undead around its neck, and with a jerk of his head, snapped it. He killed two that ran out of a building, breaking one's sword with a paw. He broke one undead's spine, ripped off of a leg. The worgen howled again, and knocked over a brazier. Fiery sparks exploded as charcoal and ashes spilled onto the floor.

The undead were able to get some organization, and attacked Arthas. He snapped at weapons, and broke them easily. His teeth were daggers, his paws hammers. His fur was thick enough to prevent most of the weapons to touch him, but some hit center, and he howled in pain as metal sliced his skin.

By the time he returned to Jaina, bits of flesh clung to his jaws, and blood streaked his ragged fur. Ripped up bodies littered the village, and fires had sprung up in the chaos. Smoke was billowing up from the roofs. The worgen looked back to the village, and whined. His ears drooped, and his head hung low.

More undead came over to Jaina, but Arthas wasn't allowed to eat them. The woman looked at them.

"See if he left anything intact. Bones, flesh, body parts hopefully. Toss the useless stuff into the fire."

* * *

><p>Ethan woke up to cold. He opened his eyes, and exhaled. White puffs of breath came out. He looked down at Sapphire.<p>

She was curled up against him, whimpering and frowning. She would be waking up from a nightmare soon. The Helm was cradled in her arms.

Gently separating from her, Ethan crawled over to the entrance of the tent. He pushed a flap aside. Bright snow greeted him.

Ethan smiled, and turned back to Sapphire. She was not shivering at all, and wore a thin set of robes. She looked fine, despite the whimpering. Her hair was curled up in uncombed tangles. She made noises, and tried to feel around for Ethan. Ethan felt like he should return to her, but he needed to go out and look for Ni'kua. The plaguehound had not returned.

The boy exited the tent, and growled. Black fur exploded from his skin, and his muscles bulged up. The bones in his body changed, and twisted. He grew a muzzle, pointed ears, and paws.

Ethan stood up on his back feet, and sniffed. He smelled undead, Sapphire, some rabbits hiding in a burrow several yards away. He sniffed the snow, sniffed some trees, and looked around. Before he could decide where to go, a howl echoed in the far distance. Ethan woofed in surprise. It was most definitely a plaguehound.

Ethan lifted his head, and with a deep breath, howled an answer.

After a couple of hours of waiting, Sapphire woke up. She was still exhausted, having been woken by another nightmare. She refused to tell Ethan what the dreams were about. All she would do after the nightmares is hug him. He didn't mind, and would hold her until she felt better.

That was what he was doing when Ni'kua came running up into the camp. He trotted through the snow, spraying up the white powder. He came over to Ethan and Sapphire. The plaguehound woofed.

"Ni'kua!" Sapphire exclaimed. She left Ethan, and hugged the dog. She kissed him all of his face. Ni'kua chuffed, and licked her hand.

Ethan knelt down. "Where is she, old friend?"

With a bark, Ni'kua twirled around. Sapphire went over to a tent, and brought out a map. She put it on the snow, and let Ni'kua look at it.

The plaguehound sniffed it, and planted his foot on one spot. Ethan looked over at it.

"In the mountains near Lordaeron? What the fuck is she doing there?" Ethan cursed.

Sapphire stared at the map, and turned it around. She sat there for a while, not saying anything. Ethan felt a bit awkward.

"Mom told me I was actually born there. That's where Dad is from," Sapphire stated.

Ethan looked at her, and sighed. He took her by the hand. "You and I are going there together. All right? Look at me...You are not alone."

* * *

><p>Sapphire sure felt alone. She hugged herself, and sniffled. Thousands of voices were wrecking her mind slowly, but that just made her even more lonely.<p>

She was supposed to be the Lich King, controlling all of the undead in the Scourge. She couldn't sleep without nightmares, and being awake was no reprieve from it.

The map was old, with faded ink and stains on it. She had never seen Lordaeron, but had read as much as she could on it. She knew where every had been, years ago. The old towns and the Capital city were in ruins. The plague would have done irreparable damage to the land.

Sapphire had been to the Plaguelands. They were pitiful areas. Sapphire had heard that the western half was now actually inhabitable for people, but the eastern half was actually getting worse. All Scourge undead had been forced out by rebel undead. Only one Scourge outpost, hidden by the Horde and Alliance, was in the mountains of the north. Nothing could survive long. The clouds were infested with plague, and it rained down with acidic danger.

Lordaeron was Forsaken territory, or it had been. With Sylvanas's death, the Forsaken were still reeling from the blow. From the mouth of spies, Sapphire knew the Horde and Alliance were both shocked at her death, and had been investigating at what happened. Bolvar had been trying to help cover it up, but Calia had admitted the truth that she was expecting. The normally calm man had become panicked, and was dealing with that.

Kamthuk, the orc that idolized Arthas, had been handling the cover up. Juna the troll had been helping, since secrets and trickery was his job.

Sapphire wasn't even able to take care of her own children. Ethan had been the one making sure they got food, went to bed, and were taking their lessons from cultists. Sapphire just felt like a failure, no matter what anyone told her.

She couldn't do this that long and stay sane.

* * *

><p>Marwyn sighed, staring at the flower in his hand.<p>

"Tanomoan...Can you turn into a pretty blue parrot?"

The deathknight looked up and saw a flash of feathers. A blue parrot, fluffed up and looking arrogant, was sitting on Angelica's shoulder. She giggled.

"Hey, Marwyn. Look, Tano is a parrot!"

Marwyn narrowed his eyes. "I see that. I wonder if he has a bird brain."

Tanomoan squawked at Marwyn, and snapped his huge beak. With a quick transformation, the dragon turned into a monkey, and showed off sharp teeth.

"Oh! He's a monkey now! Turn into a unicorn."

Tanomoan hopped off of her shoulder, and changed back into his human form.

"A unicorn? Really? I ain't turning into a stupid unicorn."

Angelica stuck her lip out, and looked at Tanomoan with her bright eyes. Marwyn knew that look. Sapphire used to give him that look, and she'd taught her little sister how to use a pout to get her way. Sapphire was an adult, but Ethan was always breaking down and letting Sapphire get her way if she put out her lower lip.

Tanomoan looked at Angelica harshly, then grew a bit uncomfortable as Angelica started making a whimpering sound. The dragon folded his arms, and bit his lip. Then, grunted.

"Fine...Let's go outside and I'll turn into a...unicorn."

Angelica squealed, and hugged him. Tanomoan growled.

"The son of Deathwing should not be brought so slow..."

Marwyn raised an eyebrow. "Well, you see what happened to Deathwing."

Puffing out his chest, Tanomoan took Angelica by the hand, and took her out of the room.

"Ugh, Unicorns," Tanomoan said as he left. Marwyn smiled, but when Nicci came in, he returned to his sighing depressed mood.

"Arthas?"

The cage is empty. I don't know where he is. Jaina takes him out every night, and I have not figured out why. Or where she takes him. His howls echo all over these mountains."

Marwyn groaned. Nicci nodded, looking exhausted. He knew she wasn't sleeping very well. The necromancer had been forced to drink sleeping draughts she made herself. He knew why she was so worried.

"Hey, Nicci."

The woman looked up at him. He forced out another smile.

"We will make Jaina pay for this."


	6. Chapter 6

No birds flew overhead. Grass was dead, breaking into dust when Sapphire stepped on them. A few deer with diseased hides ran away as the group of undead passed on the road. Rats scurried away too. The only sounds were rare howls. Ethan said some of them were just wolves, but a few were really worgen, probably starved, rabid creatures.

One came up to the group of undead, and had growled. It'd been a scrawny worgen, his ribs showing and his fur scabby, covered in oozing wounds. The worgen looked hungry, and seemed desperate enough to try undead.

When it saw Sapphire, it drooled. Sapphire was fresh meat, something the tiny worgen had not even expected. It did not expect Ethan either. Ethan had lunged at the smaller worgen, and swatted him aside.

The feral worgen whimpered, and had fled howling in terror. Ethan had been acting smug ever since. His brothers had been asking him all sorts of questions on this trip. They had been shocked to find out Ethan had married. Even more so, married to someone like Sapphire. The whole undead Scourge thing hadn't affected them much. They weren't very serious about anything.

Sapphire was feeling more and more worried. She hated the forest. It was threatening and hostile. Ever since Sapphire had learned about trees, she'd been fascinated by them. When she and Ethan lived in the Grizzly Hills, Sapphire had enjoyed flying in between the large trunks and branches of the huge trees. Sapphire was happy to not fly around Silverpine. It seemed to hate her presence...

"Sapphire?"

She looked over at Ethan. His ears perked up. He smiled nervously.

"I said this might be a good place to stop and rest. You look tired. You haven't ate since morning."

There was a ruined farm house nearby, with rotting fields. A couple of undead shambled around, and looked at the group. Sapphire had Ethan's brothers as protection, some ghouls and geists, two cultists, and Ni'kua with Rot and Terra.

Sapphire saw the worry in his eyes. She kissed him on the head. "Okay."

They went to the farm. The undead were mindless creatures compared to the ghouls and geists that had come with Sapphire. The stupid undead realized what Sapphire was, and all flocked over to her. She had to flee into the ruined farm house to avoid them all.

Ethan caught a rabbit, and had to skin it, and find pieces of the meat that would actually be edible. Ethan had to go out and kill three more to get enough for a stew. Sapphire pointed out which mushrooms were edible, and they used some potatoes they had dug up at a farm in Gilneas to make a meal for Sapphire, Ethan, and the cultists that had came.

Sapphire ate the stew rather unconsciously. She didn't really feel hungry, but Ethan looked a little less worried as she ate. Ethan ate his stew enthusiastically.

One ghoul came in after lunch, and handed Sapphire a dead flower. He was missing an arm, and had only one eye. She smiled.

"Thank you...What's your name?"

"No have one," The undead said. Sapphire looked at Ethan. The worgen shrugged.

"Ghouls usually don't need names. They are just ghouls..."

"Everything needs a name! Ghoul, your new name is now...Steve."

Ethan stared. "Steve? Really?"

Sapphire nodded, then stood up. "In fact, I am going outside and naming all of the undead outside that doesn't have a name."

She took Steve by the hand, and walked outside. One of the cultist turned to Ethan.

"There must be at least a hundred undead out there!" He protested.

Ethan smirked. "Oh, she'll stop after naming ten of them."

* * *

><p>Serenity knocked on the door. She stood there patiently. She opened her book, and started reading. When no once came to open the door, Serenity knocked again.<p>

It was answered by a beautiful woman. Serenity stared.

"Grandma...You're pretty for an undead"

The woman smiled. "Are you Serenity? Oh, you are cuter than I thought you would be. Didn't your parents tell you to stay away from us?"

Serenity frowned, and folded her arms. "Daddy just doesn't like Grandpa. He loves you though, Grandma. Do you have any food? I'm hungry."

Ethan's mother put her hands to her chest and gasped. "Oh, you poor dear. Is your great-grandfather not feeding you?"

"Well...Yeah."

The woman picked up Serenity, and took her into the room. It looked like a normal house, with fancy furniture, old looking paintings, and colorful wallpaper. There was a thick glass door, which led to a balcony outside. Serenity saw a golden owl statue on a table.

"Your place is very pretty. When we finally move back to Howling Keep, you can come with us."

Her grandmother gave her an indulgent look. "Of course. Maybe your father and grandfather can finally put the past behind them. Speaking of which...Randall, honey. We have a guest."

Randall came from another room. He'd dumped his deathknight armor, and tried to get back into his old self. Randall was wearing the kind of clothes Serenity knew belonged to nobles. She knew that Randall was a merchant though, if a rich one. He wasn't a noble. Of course, Ethan was royalty and he wore nothing fancy. Sapphire usually wore nothing more than cultist's robes too.

"Serenity. What are you doing here?" Randall asked.

"I want a family reunion when Momma and Daddy comes back with Grandpa Arthas. Family needs to stick together, and Daddy and you need to give each other big hugs."

She looked over at her grandmother, and the woman smiled.

"That is so sweet, Serenity. I think that's a wonderful idea. Randall?"

Randall shrugged. "I...I am willing to try. But Ethan's stubborn."

He looked at his wife. "It's from your side of the family. That half-sister of yours, Beve."

Serenity grinned, and opened up her book. "Here's what I am thinking..."

* * *

><p>Arthas was curled up, napping. His stomach was full of meat. The remains of a wild hog was in his cage, the bones picked clean and the skin and hair piled up. Arthas had even tried the organs. The meat had been fresh, and hot. Arthas felt content for the moment.<p>

The door opened quietly, and Arthas opened his eyes. The chains rattled as he lifted his head.

A dark-haired female stood there. She'd been coming to him whenever the other female was gone.

"Arthas...Please."

The worgen looked at her, curiously. He did not growl, or snarl. This female had not hurt him yet, and he was not hungry.

The female went over to the cage bars. Arthas stood up slowly, and went over to her. He sniffed her. He made a woof sound.

"We are trying to find a way to get you out of here, Arthas."

The worgen growled, but not threateningly. He was frustrated.

The female reached out to Arthas's collar. He snarled, and lunged at her. She screamed and fell backwards. The door opened, and a male came in. He had a sharp metal object in his hand.

"Nicci! Are you all right? Have you been bit?"

The female shook her head. "No, I am fine."

Arthas looked at the male, and barked. He growled, and scratched his claws on the floor. He woofed. The female sat up.

"Arthas? Can you understand us?"

The worgen woofed.


	7. Chapter 7

I just had a thought. Tanomoan is unconsciously made from one of my favorite TV characters. Anyone watched Legend of Korra? I somehow made Tanomoan into the character Varrick. He even sounds like the guy in my head. And Blight is like Zhu Li. Poor Blight.

Also...Sorry for the time between chapters. Writer's block. Yes, I get it.

* * *

><p>Ethan watched Sapphire reading. She was intent upon it, eyes glued to the pages. It was night, and there was howling every couple of seconds. The undead had set up fires to keep beasts away. Most of the undead were asleep, but Sapphire was awake. Ethan knew she was trying to stave off sleep.<p>

"What are you reading?"'

"A spell book. There is this "Dissolve bone" spell. It can dissolve people's bones inside of their bodies."

She seemed very excited at the prospect. Ethan cupped his chin, looking troubled. "Uh...Yeah. That should be under the illegal spells."

Sapphire frowned. "Why?"

Ethan just shook his head, and took the spell book. "Think about it for a while, then go asleep."

"But..."

Ethan gave her a stern look, and Sapphire sighed. She laid down on the rotten floor of the house. Several ghouls were laying around her, fast asleep. She lay there, occasionally sighing. Ethan looked through the spell book out of boredom, but the sighing made him get agitated. He coughed at her, and she sat up.

"I can't sleep with all that noise."

Ethan leaned over to her, and kissed her on the cheek. "Good night."

He left her in the old house, guarded by the ghouls.

* * *

><p>The closer they got to Lordaeron, the more uneasy Sapphire got. She had woken up from another nightmare, but it had been different. This one had seemed even more real. She'd been in a frozen wasteland, somewhere in Northrend. But she had been carrying Frostmourne. Voices had tormented her, and Sapphire had woken up by a licking from Rot. She had opened her mouth during sleep, and the puppy had stuck his tongue into her mouth. She'd screamed and cursed at Rot, who happily twirled around and had fled out of the ruined house.<p>

Sapphire's mood had not improved after that and the small breakfast. She had been hearing distant voices. None of them seemed in her head, like the way the Scourge member's spoke. They seemed like they were coming from the forest around her.

Ethan couldn't hear them, and when Sapphire had mentioned it, he'd been confused. And worried. Hearing things that weren't there was not good.

When Ethan told Sapphire that they were in Tirisfal glades, Sapphire was not impressed.

Bats flew in clouds above them, and starved plaguehounds wandered around the fields. They fled at the sight of Ni'kua. Rot thought it was him, so he pranced about arrogantly.

Ethan's brothers were enjoying this venture. Ever since they had been resurrected, they'd been confined to Icecrown Citadel. After years of being dead, they had been eager to go out and have an adventure.

At the moment they had been terrorizing Ethan.

"Hey, Ethy! Remember when the four of us went to that brothel together?" Edmund asked, wrapping his arm around his brother's neck.

"No."

"Well, I do!" The deathknight said happily, grinning. Sapphire looked at him questionably. Edmund just grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

* * *

><p>Nicci put the key into the locked, and unlocked the cage. The sound woke up Arthas. The worgen got up, growling. Falric and Marwyn both went in, slowly.<p>

"Come on Arthas...We aren't here to hurt you," Falric growled back. The worgen bared his teeth.

Marwyn reached out, and Arthas snapped at him. The deathknight jumped back.

"Come on, you furry asshole. We're trying to help, Arthas!"

Nicci sighed, and pushed past the deathknights with protests from them. She went over to the growling worgen, and stared into his eyes. The worgen bared his teeth, but the woman kept staring. Finally, the worgen lowered his head and whined. He let Nicci get close to him. She broke of the chains with magic, and stroked Arthas's big head as she did so. The worgen brushed his snout against her, and Marwyn gasped. But nothing happened.

The worgen walked tentatively walked toward the cage door, and sniffed.

Nicci grabbed his collar, and Arthas snarled. But Nicci was not going to deal with that. She made an unintimidating growl back. But it got the worgen to jerk in surprise.

"Arthas, sit!"

The worgen sat down on his haunches, staring at her in surprise. Both Marwyn and Falric were speechless.

Nicci folded her arms.

"Listen here, you stupid mass of fur! You are going to stay quiet, and follow us out of this place. Or Jaina is going to find us, and probably kill us all and neuter you. Got it?"

The worgen whined. Nicci looked up at the deathknights, who were both against the wall with frightened looks on their faces. The woman glared at them.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there and look like a pair of idiots? Let's go!"

Falric looked at Marwyn. "Who knew she could get so mad?"

"Or scary," Marwyn whimpered.

Nicci opened the door to the room, and looked around for guards. She opened it wider, and Arthas perked up his furry ears hopefully, and woofed. He took several hesitant steps forward. He looked at Nicci, and then opened his mouth. Instead of growling, he stuck his tongue out and started panting. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging.

* * *

><p>Tanomoan looked at the hourglass in front of him. He scowled, and picked it up with his paws. He shook it violently. The sand flung around in the glass, and flashed gold.<p>

"Oh...I hate magic. Why can't you be simple like money?"

The door slammed opened, and Tanomoan yipped. He nearly dropped the hourglass, and clung it tightly to his chest. Jaina gave him a dark look. Tanomoan felt like his soul was being ripped apart. And he didn't even know what a soul felt like.

"What are you doing with that? We need that if my plans are to succeed."

"You wanted me to work with it, so I needed to examine it. It's really hard you know...I am an engineer, not a wizard," Tanomoan snapped. He stuck out his tongue, and put down the hourglass. His wings drooped, and he pouted.

Jaina folded her arms. "You are a dragon. Surely you can do anything? Maybe I should have brought Blight."

Tanomoan puffed out his chest. "Blight's a deformed lizard! Come back in...a day, and I will have had this solved."

The woman grinned. "Good."

She left, and Tanomoan glared at the hourglass. It just sat in his paws with "Stupid magic. I can't make money off of you. Therefore you are stupid."


	8. Chapter 8

I recently drew Sapphire and Ethan cuddling together, Ethan is in his worgen form. I think it's cute. The only way it could be cuter is if Rot was with them.

* * *

><p>Calia fiddled with the lock. With a click, it unlocked and Calia pulled the door open. She stared in awe.<p>

Row upon row of unused weapons sat collecting dust in the large armory. They shone dangerously. The weapons were not used for anything, kept in reserve for defense. For the extra warriors in case the Scourge was ever attacked by the Horde or Alliance. Calia didn't like it. She did not agree with a defensive and secretive life. She wanted to crush the Horde and Alliance. They were bad, always fighting with each other. The Scourge was powerful and better in all ways. If Calia had her way, the Scourge would enslave them all. Then, the idiots would stop fighting and live peacefully.

Calia touched a sword. She felt it's smooth oiled metal. She wondered what it would be like to use it on someone. She wasn't old enough, but when she was she was going to become a deathknight, like Terenas wanted to be. They would both become great fighters, no matter what their parents said.

Admiring an unfinished runeblade, Calia didn't notice Arty come walking in. Alfie woofed, and she jumped. Arty was hugging his plaguehound. He looked around at all the weapons.

"Calia? What are you doing? We shouldn't be in here."

The girl snorted. "I am looking around for the best sword to kill something with...Ooh, how about this one?"

Arty scowled at his twin sister, and looked at the sword she pointed it out. He put down his dog, and folded his arms.

"That's twice the size as you..."

Calia scowled. "I ain't gonna be using it now! I'm going to be bigger eventually!"

She went over to the sword she had picked, a nice shiny one with lots of spikes on it. A skull made up the pommel. Calia reached up for it, but couldn't. She rose up onto her tiptoes, and grabbed the hilt. She tugged at it. Arty gasped, and Alfie barked.

"Calia, stop! You'll get hurt!"

The girl stopped, and turned onto him. "You're stupid."

Arty flinched and gave her a hurt look. "What?"

"You are a coward. When have you ever killed anything. We're worgen! We kill stuff."

"Like you've killed stuff!"

The girl stuck her tongue out. "Have so! I kill rats and squirrels. It's fun."

Arty stared at her, gaping. "Wha...What? How could you find that fun? Dad says we only kill because we have to."

"Whatever. Dad's stupid too. You're all stupid. If I was Lich King, the whole world would be better!"

Calia's brother just looked at her in horror. The girl turned around and tried to get the sword. She pulled it out of it's stand, and it was heavier than she thought. She stumbled with it, blade swinging. Calia grunted, and heard her brother protest. The sword cut her hand when she touched the blade, but she ignored it. It didn't hurt.

She beamed over at Arty. "Look at me. I'm a deathknight."

The boy gave her a scared look. "Okay...You're a deathknight. Now could you put that down? Great-Grandpa is going to be mad. And Terry wants to go out riding frostwyrms tomorrow."

Calia laughed. "I don't care. Terry can do what he wants...He's the firstborn. Prince of the Scourge."

Arty bit his lip. "I'm a prince too. You're a princess."

"I am not! I am a warrior."

She whipped up the sword as if to point to the sky dramatically, but the weight was too much for her, and she lost balance. She fell, and the twins both cried out.

Alfie howled in alarm.

* * *

><p>The worgen ran off through the forest. Behind him, the humans followed him desperately. He felt happy for the first time in a long time, finally free.<p>

He loped on all fours, going through the dark forests. He scared deer, birds, and occasional ragged wolves. He found a nice patch of dead grass, and collapsed into it. He rolled around in it as the humans caught up with him. He stretched his legs and sniffed the dirt. He lifted his head when he felt a hand near his collar.

The female scowled. Another two females had joined with them, one of them the tiny one that had kept tugging on the worgen's fur all the time. She was being carried by the other female that had an annoying voice.

"Arthas...Do you remember the meaning of escape? We need to get as far away as possible."

The worgen woofed at her, and stood up on two feet. He growled aggressively, and licked the female on the face. She gave him a passive look, and turned to the undead males. One of them scowled

"Hey...That's my girlfriend-"

The other smacked him on the back of the head. "Shut up, Marwyn. I'll find you someone better. You know...Maybe a gnome or a dog. Something that would accept you for who you are."

The first smiled, then stood there for a second. "Hey, wait a-"

"Shut up, Marwyn," A voice rasped.

All of the humans looked to the worgen. Arthas had forced out the statement and his throat felt dusty. His eyes perked up at all of the stunned looks on the humans.

"Daddy! You're speaking again!" Angelica said. The girl jumped out of Autum's arms and ran at Arthas. She grabbed his arm, and hugged it. Her face went straight into his fur, and her voice was muffled.

"I missed you Dad."

Arthas sniffed Angelica. "I missed you too sweetheart."

There was a screeched, and Arthas snarled. He pushed Angelica aside, and jumped up and grabbed the gargoyle. His claws scraped against stony skin, but it shrieked in terror and tried to flee. Nicci used a ice spell to freeze it's wings, and it fell to the ground. Arthas went for it, and broke it apart with his strength.

He grabbed one of its wings and tore it off. He snarled, and let out a fierce growl.

Autum squealed. "Oh, Arthas! You are attractive."

Falric slowly turned his head. "If you wish to adopt a child, never say that about another male again."

The young woman giggled, and clutched the deathknight's arm. "You're so funny...We are adopting a baby blood elf."

Arthas snarled. "We need to get out of here. You can discuss marital decisions later!"

* * *

><p>The voices blamed Sapphire. It was her fault. It had always been her fault, though she knew not why. They were dead, because of lies and betrayal. Nothing Sapphire could do would fix it.<p>

_You are no different from him. _

_He butchered us, and you are just like him._

_What right do you have? You have become the monster that you hated.  
><em>

Sapphire put her hands over her ears. "Please...Shut up. It's not my fault my father killed you."

Ethan was over at his brothers. Ni'kua was sniffing around. No one noticed Sapphire's discomfort.

Except a geist. It came over to her, and poked her.

"Master...Ignore them." His voice was a gasp, and scratchy.

Sapphire looked up. "Excuse me?"

"They are just angry. They can't hurt you...And they don't mean to be cruel. If you were killed, wouldn't you be angry enough to snap at anyone one?"

Sapphire sniffed, and smiled. "I suppose. Thank you."

"For what? Telling you the truth?" The undead asked. Before Sapphire could reply, he went off to talk with some ghouls. She sat there, thinking. The voices had disappeared,

Ethan came over to Sapphire, and saw the look on her face. She forced out a smile, and hugged him. She ran her fingers through his hair, and kissed him. He pulled away, frowning.

"Are you all right?"

Sapphire nodded. "Better than before."

She looked over at Ni'kua. The plaguehound woofed, and came trotting over. He licked Sapphire, and she hugged him. She rubbed his stomach, and patted his exposed spine bones.

"Have you found my father yet?"

There was a howl in the distance. Ni'kua wagged his tail. He turned around and lifted one front paw. His nose pointed to the northeast, where the howl had come from.


	9. Chapter 9

You all will be happy to know that I could sell my book in most countries. I think everyone that reads this is covered.

* * *

><p>"Ooh, you are so dead, Kelly," Lethumo said.<p>

They were in the healing room, where all of the Menethil's seemed to end up at least once a week. This time, it was Arthas Jr.

Silvia and her mother Mei were at Arty's side. The little night elf girl was helping to bandage his shoulder, which Mei and several cultists had healed. Blood covered his body. Arty was in a lot of pain, and he was clutching Alfie with his good hand. He looked over at Lethumo.

"Uncle Lethumo...I'm hungry."

The night elf smiled. "All right, Art boy. I'll get you some ice cream all right? Never mind, Kel. He seems fine. All we have to do is bribe him not to tell his parents, and to hide the wound. Then Sapphire won't smash you into dust, and throw your phylactery into a volcano."

Kel'thuzad gave him a dark look. He had been preforming a spell when Lethumo had interrupted him to tell the lich that Arthas was injured. "She gave me four children to look after! I can't even handle one!"

"Whatever, lich. You should have just chained them up and fed them ice cream until the Dog and Cultist came back. At least they wouldn't have gotten injured."

The doors to the healing room sprung open. Serenity and Terenas came running in. Terra came in, barking like mad. Blight poked his head into the room, whining.

"Arty, Arty, Arty! Are you okay?" Serenity demanded. She went over to him, and hugged his uninjured arm. Alfie barked, and licked her. Terra hopped onto the bed, and woofed at Arty. The puppy licked his hand, and curled up into his lap.

Terenas looked at Kel'thuzad. "What happened?"

"You're youngest sister decided to play with a sword. It was luck that she didn't hit Arty in the head."

The boy looked at his brother, and felt extremely guilty. He should have been watching his younger sibling's, but he had been playing a game of cards with a deathknight.

"Where's Calia?" He suddenly asked.

"Oh...Uh."

Lethumo and Kel'thuzad looked awkward. Terenas stared. Serenity let go of Arty.

"Where is Calia? Is she okay?" The girl asked.

The night elf coughed. "Well...We haven't, uh, found her yet."

Serenity gasped. "What do you mean? Terry, We have to find her. Blight!"

The dragon drooped his wings, and clutched his paws together. He whined again.

"Why must I-"

Serenity looked at the twilight dragon, and stared hard. Blight hung his head. "Okay."

They both ran off. Terenas sat next to his brother.

Lethumo pulled out a bottle, and took a sip. He then went over to Silvia, and handed it to her. The girl gulped half of it down. When Lethumo went back over to Kel'thuzad, the lich had a disapproving look on his face.

"What? It's mushroom juice. The kid is addicted. Better than what I'm addicted to," The night elf said, pulling out another bottle. He drank the entire thing, than belched.

"I'll go watch over Serenity and the purple thing. See you later."

* * *

><p>Sapphire had been having a horrible feeling all during the day. Something had happened.<p>

The feeling she felt disappeared when Arthas showed up, with the rest of their family. Nicci was carrying Angelica, but as soon as the sisters' eyes met, Sapphire and Angelica gave each other tight hugs. Marwyn hugged Sapphire, and kissed her amorously.

"Sapphire! I'm sorry! You can murder me if you want."

"No Mar, it's okay. You've always been an idiot. And Falric, you should no better."

The older deathknight scowled. "Shut up, you little bit-"

She stared at him, and held up the Helm. Falric quickly stopped, looking like he had been slapped.

"You're the Master?"

"Yes. Bow to me if you want, but I don't care."

Ethan put his hand on Sapphire's shoulder. He pointed at the worgen that was sitting there silently, scratching a claw in the dead earth awkwardly. He lifted his head, and both of his ears pressed back against his skull. He whined.

Sapphire started crying. Then, she got angry. She went straight up to the giant white worgen that was her father, and smacked his nose. Arthas drew back in alarm, but Sapphire wasn't done. Before he could escape, Sapphire froze his feet to the ground, and hit him again. Arthas woofed.

She hit him until her hands hurt, then started sobbing and hugged him, kissing his furry pointed ears, his nose, and the top of his head. She buried her face into his fur.

She then hit him again with her fist. "You're lucky that I don't set you on fire or turn you into a sheep and make Ethan eat you!"

Arthas looked at Ethan. The boy shrugged.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't you dare say you are sorry," Sapphire spat.

Arthas bared his teeth. "Then I won't. You could be a little nicer. I've been tortured, forced to kill-"

Sapphire hugged him again, and he stopped talking.

Falric and Marwyn went over to Ethan's brothers, grins on their faces. Nicci hugged Ethan, and apologized profusely about everything. Angelica tugged at Sapphire's sleeve.

"Mom's not going to be happy. She'll send Iceberg after us."

Sapphire turned to her little sister. "Ice...Iceberg?"

Before Angelica responded, there was a deafening roar.

* * *

><p>Terra sniffed around, zigzagging around the hall. She woofed, and ran down the hall. Serenity ran after, followed by Blight. The purple dragon gasped as he struggled to keep up.<p>

They went off, and Terra took them down some stairs. It went down into the old dungeons, which was now where some of the undead lived. Serenity didn't like the look of it.

Bones were scattered everywhere. Cockroaches fled from Serenity's feet. Blight picked up some, and put them safely in an empty skull so no one would step on them.

Serenity grabbed his paw. "Stop messing around. Look! Terra's running off."

The puppy heard her, and stopped. She woofed.

They followed after her, down more stairs. They went deeper into the dungeons, where actual prisoners were held. The only prisoners were a cultist that had been working on a plague, a deathknight who had killed in a drunken rage, and a man that had tried to come to Northrend, and been discovered. Either he would be killed, or persuaded for his silence, or he might join the Scourge. Serenity had seen him. He was a paladin.

Serenity watched Terra go to one of the grates on the floor. Serenity thought they were the crueler cells, where food was thrown down, and anything that the guards had felt like throwing down to torment the people. There was the sound of someone crying. The girl knelt next to the grate, and saw some rope tied to the metal. She looked down.

Twenty feet down, at the bottom was Calia. She was curled up, hugging her knees. She was crying, occasionally rubbing her eyes.

"Calia...Hey! What are you doing down there? Arty's okay. It was an accident."

"Shut up, Blondie."

Serenity jerked back, looking offended. Terra woofed, and scratched at the grate. Blight sighed. He pulled the grate away, and dropped down into the hole. Serenity cried out, but Blight just fluttered down. Then, he grabbed Calia.

She screamed. "No! Lemme go!"

"You are mean, but you are family. And family doesn't let one another cry in a hole. You climb the rope, or I fly you out."

Calia looked at him fearfully. "I don't like flying."

"Then climb the rope," Blight said firmly.

Calia reluctantly did so. She sniffled, and ran off as soon as she got up. Terra followed her, barking madly. Blight climbed up.

Serenity hugged Blight, squeezing his neck hard and causing him to choke.

"You're so nice and smart, Blight."

"Can't...Breathe. Need. Air," The dragon gasped. Serenity kissed him, but he struggling in her grip.


	10. Chapter 10

In case none of you are aware...Since you have gone this far in reading my stories, you are all now part of the Scourge. Get your complimentary cultist's robes from the nearest ghoul, and if you wish to subscribe to the Arthas Menthil Fan Club (AMFC), contact Marwyn. He is the president of it, not by his choice but Sapphire made him. The Ethan Calwood Appreciation Group is also accepting members.

Sorry for the short chapter. :( Real Rot/Terra (She is one dog, but acts like both of them combined) is not feeling well. I have cute pictures of her where I have that Sapphire drawing.

* * *

><p>Kel'thuzad groaned, and closed the book.<p>

The children wouldn't shut up. Arty was eating a bowl of ice cream. Terenas was the subject of Silvia's flirtations, which the young boy didn't understand. He had not yet reached puberty. Serenity was petting Blight. Calia was looking around morosely.

Arty looked over at the lich. "What's wrong? Want some ice cream?"

Kel'thuzad glared at the boy. He felt like cutting up something and examining its anatomy.

"I am a lich. I do not eat."

He had been sitting next to boy's bed out of duty. Kel'thuzad thought if he didn't, he would be a horrible great grandfather. That, and his new master was Sapphire, who was emotional, irrational, vastly powerful, and prone to female weakness. She also had murderous tendencies, and per law, Kel'thuzad had to tell his new master where he hid his phylactery.

Sapphire was indeed going to kill him, and no one would stop her. Between familial loyalty and the promise of sharing Sapphire's bed, Ethan would be ruled by his urge to mate rather than speak on behalf of his grandfather. This is why Kel'thuzad liked no longer having flesh and did not have to deal with such things.

Arty just stuck a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. "Too bad. Ice cream is good."

Silvia leaned over. "It's almost as good as alcohol. Just ask Daddy."

The door to the room opened abruptly, and a hooded figure came walking it, using a staff as support. Serenity had returned with Blight, and she had yet to let go of his neck. But then she let go, and ran at the man.

"Medivh!" She hugged the old prophet enthusiastically. He patted her on the head.

"Hello, child. Let go. I need to speak with Kel'thuzad and the night elf."

Lethumo, lounging on one of the patient beds, sat up."I have a name."

"I know. I also know that you are going to die with a smile on your face and beer in one hand. Now be quiet. There is a calamity coming."

Kel'thuzad looked at the children, then grabbed Lethumo.

"Let's talk out in the hall."

The elf quickly started drinking and followed.

Medivh went out into the hall, and turned to the lich and elf.

"Jaina is about to do something catastrophic. Sapphire is going to be tempted by something that might traumatize her forever. And the Scourge might be destroyed. Any questions?"

Lethumo scratched his head. "Uh...You see me dying? What other stuff do you see about me? Or about Silvia?"

The prophet glared at him. "You will adopt five young pandaren children and buy a winery. Your daughter will become the best courtesan in the world, break young Terenas Menethil's heart several times, and she will own several world-renowned brothels. That is, she will if she doesn't catch a deadly disease from her indiscretions. Satisfied?"

"Fine. How do we help Sapphire?" The night elf asked, worried about the deadly disease part.

"You can't help her stay sane. But when she ends up in the middle of the Citadel of Light in Stormwind wearing deathknight armor and the Helm on her head, you can be there to-"

"Save her from the holy fanatics?" Lethumo asked, eyes wide.

"Actually, I was going to say save the...holy fanatics...from her."

Lethumo took a drink, and scowled. He looked at the bottle. "What is this stuff?"

"Elf! Do you not understand the gravity of the situation?" Medivh demanded, looking at Lethumo incredulously.

Kel'thuzad sighed. "If I were to open his skull, there would be a nothing but alcohol in it. I will see to it that he does what needs to be done."

Medivh nodded, and started walking off. He then stopped.

"Oh, Kel'thuzad. Perhaps you should ask your son to help you with the children. And teach Calia some restraint. She'll become the leader of the SI:7 and be able to kill a man with nothing but a needle and a feather. That kind of power can get to your head sometimes."

Kel'thuzad laughed.

* * *

><p>Iceberg growled. His tail swished back and forth. His eyes glowed blue.<p>

The Frostwyrm had attacked them, tearing down trees and blocking any escape. Sapphire had tried to freeze him, transform him, and shock him with lightning. Iceberg had roared and swatted her, tossing Sapphire against a tree. Several gargoyles had flown at the group too, and ghouls jumped on top of Arthas and Ethan.

Now they sat in the courtyard of a ruined castle. Sapphire was lying on her side, in pain. Ethan and Arthas had been muzzled and chained. The rest had been bound up. Tanomoan had shown up and taken Angelica away.

Ethan's brothers were all struggling with their bindings. Falric and Marwyn sat there morosely.

Falric glared at Sapphire. "It's all your fault, Sapphire. You should have set him on fire."

Iceberg bared his teeth at the deathknights.

"I could not...He is Glacier's brother. I might as well try to set Edwin on fire."

Ethan's brother looked up. "Little sister!"

They heard footsteps, and Jaina came walking up to them. She wore necromancer robes, and her hair was disheveled. The look of anger on her face was enough for Marwyn to break down.

"It was Nicci's idea. All her fault. She wanted Arthas for herself. Don't kill me! I'm still a virgin."

Falric, his best friend, looked at him in disgust. Marwyn lowered his head.

"Sorry...Jaina scares me more than Arthas does. He should be more evil if he wanted me to not panic," The man sobbed, laying on the ground. He curled up into a ball. Sapphire stared in bewilderment.

Arthas growled into the muzzle keeping his mouth shut.

"Shut up, Marwyn," Jaina snapped. The deathknight flinched.

Sapphire sat up, wincing. "Mom! Whatever you are planning, it's not worth it. Why are you doing this?"

"Don't worry, Sapphire. In fact, your life will be infinitely better when I am done."

Sapphire stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll see."


	11. Chapter 11

My Birthday is Friday. Give me imaginary presents.

And Arthas...Ethan will answer your question below.

* * *

><p>Sapphire was dragged down a flight of stairs. She heard Arthas snarling and struggling, held with chains by several deathknights and undead. Ethan and Nicci had been dragged down with them, the rest were in prison cells. Nicci had a bruise on her face. Sapphire winced as she was brutally handled by a ghoul that was not nice. Living with peaceful undead for several years, it was a harsh slap in the face.<p>

They were taken down into a dank room. Tanomoan was there, working on some circle. Crystals were strewn about along a line, and runes drawn. Sapphire looked at them in confusion. Medivh had taught her to do a lot of magic, but none of it contained runes like them, not even the ones that summoned demons, which had been Sapphire's least favorite thing to do.

In the middle of the circle was an hourglass. Sapphire stopped short.

"You are not doing what I think you are doing!" She snapped, suddenly afraid. She reached out to Kel'thuzad, who was surprised at the contact. There was guilt coming from him, but Sapphire didn't care to find out why.

_Kel'thuzad!__ Look!  
><em>

Kel'thuzad looked through Sapphire's eyes, and saw the hourglass. Sapphire heard Jaina talk.

"Yes, I am. You should be happy. Your life will be a thousand times better when I kill your father."

Arthas yelped in shocked. Sapphire looked at him. He realized what Jaina was going to do.

"Going back in time is dangerous! You could change everything-"

"I know. Don't worry. If you worried you won't have a father, that won't be a problem. I will bring him back like I did this time. And you will have both parents in your life."

Sapphire gave her mother a disgusted look. "You justify changing history just so I won't be improperly raised? Have you been snorting arcane dust?"

Tanomoan looked up. "I have tried it. It's a great experience."

When his mother glared at the dragon laid down and curled up. He whined.

Jaina gave her daughter an annoyed look. "I don't like your tone, Sapphire."

"This has always been my tone. Maybe if you wanted to have a say on how I was raised, you should have stopped Dad in Stratholme."

The woman didn't reply to her daughter. She just went right to the circle, and started using her magic. The runes glowed. The air flickered with green light and sparks. Tanomoan yipped in surprise, and ran off. He curled up in the corner of the room.

Sapphire used magic herself, and burnt the rope around her wrists. She cut off her father's and Ethan's muzzles and their chains.

Arthas didn't even bother to care about the magic. He went lunging at Jaina. She whipped around, and hit him with a fireball. Sapphire smelled burning fur and flesh. She tried to use lightning to shock her mother, but missed. Jaina had put up a magic shield. Purple magic hit Sapphire straight in the chest, and she went down in pain.

Sapphire saw Ethan jump at Jaina, and actually get her. He grabbed her with his clawed hands, but Jaina tried to throw them off. The magic from the circle exploded.

Sapphire fell into a river. Water went into her mouth, ears, and nose. She flailed about, scared. She didn't know how to swim. There was nothing but white foam in her vision

Something grabbed her, and black fur obscured her vision. She was pulled up to the surface. Sapphire coughed out water, and clung to Ethan. He swam against the current, and pushed toward the sandy shore of the river. He pulled Sapphire to the land, and checked her. She waved him off, coughing.

Ethan shook himself, water flinging everywhere from his fur. He looked around.

Arthas pulled himself out of the water and shook himself as well. Nicci came out, black hair clinging to her face.

Something was wrong. She couldn't hear the voices of the Scourge, couldn't feel their presence. They were gone.

Sapphire grabbed her pack. Jaina hadn't taken in from her. Sapphire ripped it open. The Helm was gone.

"No! No, where is the Helm? It can't be gone! I can't feel them anymore, Ethan. The Scourge, it's gone."

Ethan looked around in horror. The white rapids of the river were loud and intimidating.

There was a coughing sound, and Sapphire looked toward it.

Tanomoan pulled himself up onto the riverbank. In his paws were the hourglass, in his mouth was the Helm. But that wasn't going to help. Sapphire was not in control of the Scourge anymore.

Arthas stood up. "We can't worry about that right now. Right now, we need to know where we are."

Sapphire looked at him. "Don't you mean...when we are?"

Ethan sniffed around.

"It smells like there is a human town or village nearby. We can go there. Here Arthas, we need to get you to turn human. I will show you how."

"All right...Why the fuck did I marry that bitch?" Arthas cursed angrily.

"Same reason any man marries a woman? Ask Lethumo when we see him next," Ethan replied in amusement.

Sapphire was not amused. She was shaking violently. She did not care if she was in the middle of no where. She was more worried about her children, surrounded by a bunch of undead that have no leader to keep them in check. She was worried for the living Scourge members. She had failed.

* * *

><p>Kel'thuzad froze.<p>

_No, that cannot be._

Tryg the ghoul, sitting next to Serenity, suddenly whined. He looked around in a panic, and stood up. He went off.

"Master! Master, where you go?"

All of the undead were panicking, throughout Northrend. Kel'thuzad was barely fighting off the fear himself.

All four of his great grandchildren were sitting together, eating some dinner that Lethumo's wife had made. None of them had any idea what was wrong. They were talking and eating with relative ease, even Calia and Arty. The boy was still weak, but he had an appetite. He didn't blame Calia. The girl still blamed herself, but the rest had completely forgotten about it.

There was no Lich King. The Scourge was leaderless. And Sapphire had foolishly brought the Helm to wherever she went, so there was no way they could replace her with anyone. Kel'thuzad felt like an idiot. He should have insisted she stay back, let Ethan find Arthas. Because of her, there was serious implications. Without a leader, the Scourge will go berserk.


	12. Chapter 12

Read "My Lost File" in the mini-stories, and check out my newest poll on my profile. Don't worry. I won't be dropping this one. The offer will be a bonus for those of you with more evil inside you.

Also...Rot? Did you get onto Arthas's iSkull phone?

* * *

><p>Serenity saw Kel'thuzad angrily talking to several cultists. They went running out, and Kel'thuzad sealed the room shut. She looked at him worriedly.<p>

"Kelly, What's going on?"

"Nothing, child. Just a bit of a...disturbance. It should be completely fine."

The girl looked completely unconvinced.

There was a furious knocking sound on the door. Calia gripped a small dagger in her hand. Arty scowled at her. Terenas stood up protectively in front of his siblings.

"Who is it?" Kel'thuzad demanded.

"Lethumo! Open it up."

The lich reluctantly opened the doors. The night elf came running in, followed by several other knights. They all had their weapons out. He collapsed against the floor. Black blood covered his armor.

"Good news and bad news. Bad news, undead are rebelling like crazy."

All of the children looked startled. They did not know what was going on. Terenas was the first to recover.

"Good news?"

"It's only half of the undead population that is doing it. Tryg is currently cowering behind the Shadow throne, by the way."

Serenity gasped. "Aren't you going to save him?"

Lethumo gave her a look of incredulity. "He's just a ghoul. He will be fine."

"He's not just a ghoul, he's family! Go save him...Now!" Serenity demanded. Lethumo looked at Kel'thuzad. The deathknight stood up.

"Fine. Miss Bossy."

* * *

><p>Sapphire stared at the city before her. Ethan had smelled wrong, thinking it was just a town. No, the city was huge and looked very familiar. But Sapphire had seen it in disarray, with burning fires and crawling with undead.<p>

It was Stratholme, intact and still inhabited by the living. The stones were white and looked practically brand new.

Sapphire had only been there once, and had not been very affected by it. But one look at her father said everything.

Grain from Andorhal, which Sapphire knew from history was infected with plague, was being brought in with carts. Arthas had a pained look on his face as they watched, hidden in the treeline.

"Dad...You okay?"

He nodded, and in a strained voice, said, "Fine."

She crept over to him, and took his hand. "Don't think about trying to change it."

"But we could. It's right there. Burn it to hell."

Sapphire laid her head on his shoulder. "Then what would have happened to me?"

"I would have married Jaina, and you could have been brought up a princess."

"Then I would have been a priss, I would have never met Ethan, never married him, and you might have been killed by undead. Hmm?"

"But-" Sapphire smacked him, then hugged his arm.

"Shut up. Why don't you just concentrate on the future? Meaning...We need to get back. And I suppose you should think about Nicci."

Arthas turned to her, his attention completely on her. He wasn't even looking at Stratholme anymore.

"Excuse me?"

"Nicci likes you. Marwyn is...Uh. Not her type."

Arthas and Sapphire looked over at Nicci. The woman had not been taking the trip to the past well. She had never really been a part of any action, and now to be in the middle of it, she was stressed out. She was a simple necromancer, not a deathknight or mage.

At the moment, she was talking quietly with Tanomoan. The dragon looked absolutely bored. Ethan came walking out of Stratholme. He went around, walking to their hiding spot the long way to avoid being spotted.

"Hey. I looked all over for Jaina. No where. She must be waiting to kill you in Stratholme. You are about three hours away."

He dropped the bag he was carrying, and opened it. He gave tossed clothes to Arthas and Nicci. Sapphire's robes were simple, unadorned with any Scourge symbols. Instead, he gave her some bread. She took it, and ate without hesitation. Arthas stared at the bread, but it couldn't possibly infected with plague.

"Relax, Arthas." Ethan said as he sat down.

"Sorry. But if you are presented with one of you biggest failures and mistakes, you would be tense too."

Ethan looked at Sapphire. She shrugged, and went over to Nicci to share her bread. Tanomoan sniffed it, but one look from Sapphire told him to go get his own food. Tanomoan turned into a yellow-eyed black cat, and ran off to go find a mouse or something.

They sat there for a long time. Alliance soldiers came up, and Sapphire watched her father talking to Jaina and some paladin. Sapphire raised an eyebrow. She was next to Nicci, and leaned over.

"I see why you like him. That Arthas is actually sexy."

Nicci looked over at the girl. "Who told you-"

"It is obvious to everyone except Dad."

They watched the younger Jaina, the paladin that Sapphire suddenly remembered was named Uther, and most of the soldiers left. The young, and more attractive, Arthas led the rest into Stratholme to massacre the living before they turned undead.

"All right. Let's go," Ethan said. He ran off. The rest followed. Tanomoan came back with a mouse, and dropped it.

"Hey!"

* * *

><p>The screaming started first. Sapphire watched as her father, the younger version, kill off innocent people.<p>

Sapphire knew about the Culling, and had seen her father kill people. It still affected her, seeing what could have been. Ethan and Arthas quickly stole armor and put it on themselves. Sapphire, now that she didn't have to deal with all the voices, turned into an owl and kept watch on top of roofs that were not yet on fire. She turned Nicci into a bird as well, which was a common crow. Smoke burned their eyes. Undead soon replaced the innocent people, and Sapphire somehow felt worse for the undead than the living. She saw Ethan and her Arthas join the fight. Nicci fluttered around awkwardly.

Sapphire flew down, following the living as they cut their way through the city. The stench of burning hair and flesh was repulsive, coupled with the smell of fresh undead. Sapphire heard a screech, and saw a bird swooping down toward the younger Arthas. Sapphire went toward it, and caught it with her talons.

Jaina screeched, and pecked at Sapphire. They fought mid air, wings flapping hard. Sapphire bit at Jaina's wing's, but Jaina was an osprey, a black and white bird that ate fish and frequented coastlines. Sapphire was bigger, and stouter, but Jaina was fast and her beak was sharper. Sapphire had lost several feathers already, and was bleeding.

Nicci came to the rescue, cawing at Jaina. She pecked and tried to tear at Jaina to no avail.

Jaina tore free of Sapphire, and flew back toward Arthas. Sapphire followed.

Before Jaina could reach him, Sapphire slammed into her, and both fell to the ground. They rolled around on the cobblestones, which was slick with blood. Both white birds were soon stained red all over. They screeched, and ignored everything else. None of the Alliance soldiers had noticed them, but Ethan and the old Arthas did. They dropped back from where they had been.

An undead that had been overlooked seemed to find the idea of bird for dinner intriguing. It lunged at the two birds, but Ethan ran at it, and with his sword, cleaved it in half.

Tanomoan came over, clutching the hourglass. Jaina quickly turned into a human again, and magic exploded around them. Several water elementals conjured up, and attacked Arthas and Ethan. They fought back.

Sapphire grabbed Jaina, and fought over the hourglass. It sparked in their hands, and glowed a brilliant yellow.

Sapphire fell down a mound of snow, feeling sharp rocks dig into her skin. She jumped up, but an osprey flew away, and a blizzard whited out her vision. Once again, Sapphire did not know where she was, or when she was.


	13. Chapter 13

Guess what! I put the book cover of my real story on my DA page, the link is on my profile. It is under my Journals where you can find it.

* * *

><p>Sapphire tripped, and struggled in the snow. Shards of ice flew in the blizzard, and Sapphire felt several hit her face painfully.<p>

She looked around, hoping for something to see. She remembered the blizzard years ago, when she had ran straight into it. This was worse. Sapphire had been in pain and was grief stricken. She just remembered white and pain. Fear rose up into her throat. Sapphire was trembling, and not from the cold.

There was a glow far out, a tiny spark of light in the blankness. Sapphire slowly went for it.

The glow came from a cave, and Sapphire crawled toward it. Upon entering, Sapphire saw that it was fire.

A deathknight was sitting at it. The flames glowed red and orange, throwing glimmers of light along the ice walls of the cave.

The deathknight seemed indifferent to the fire. He looked more concerned about the sword in his hands. He looked very conflicted, and in pain. Sapphire barely noticed. She was looking at the sword. It's glowing runed surface, and spiked edges were very familiar. The skull on the cross-guard practically glared at Sapphire in hatred. Frostmourne looked a million times more intimidating than Sapphire remembered. Last time she had seen it, it was in pieces lying in a secure vault that only Arthas and his blood could enter without permission, a major fault concerning the children.

The deathknight looked up at Sapphire. There was a mixture of confusion and shock on his face, one that Sapphire knew.

Arthas stood up, and pointed the sword at her. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Dad?" Sapphire said without thinking.

Arthas blinked in surprise. "What?"

Sapphire quickly stood up. She'd already screwed up. How worse could it get. "I'm Sapphire Menethil."

The deathknight looked at Frostmourne and back at her, scowling.

"Liar. Who are you really?"

"That's not a lie. I am really Sapphire Menethil. You're Arthas. Did...you recently get that sword?"

The man grimaced. "Yes, and it's voices torment me. If you are-"

"I am a Menethil. You probably got that from a chunk of ice, and your friend Muradin is...dead. You killed Mal'ganis, the dreadlord. Oh, and you marooned all of your troops here in Northrend."

Her father just stared. He looked completely take off guard. Either he would threaten to kill her, or he might still be reasonable and listen to her.

Arthas put Frostmourne to the side, clearly pained to let go of it. Sapphire remembered that he was tormented by it for days before succumbing, and then returning to Lordaeron.

Sapphire folded her arms. She was tempted to just lay down next to the fire and sleep for a week.

"Now that I have your attention..."

* * *

><p>Ethan dug with his front paws, snow flinging up everywhere. Arthas bared his teeth. Snow and ice was already bombarding them. Nicci was clinging to his back, no fur to protect her. Arthas had quickly turned into a worgen as soon as possible.<p>

"Where did you learn to dig, Ethan?"

"Ni'kua. Now shut up." Ethan did dig like a dog, throwing it up behind him. Arthas ducked his head as snow flew up onto to him. As soon as the hole was big enough, He crawled down into it. Nicci went in after him, and Arthas went last, He covered up the entire entrance. Snow quickly fell on top of him.

"This is how wolves and dogs sleep in cold weather. Our body heat will keep us warm in the hole. And Nicci, you can lay up against me and Arthas. Our fur will keep you warm." Then, he whined. Not one of them had said anything, but Sapphire had gotten separated from them.

Nicci laid up against Ethan. "Don't worry, Ethan. Sapphire can't get cold like I can. We will find her when the blizzard dies down."

"Okay..." Ethan said. Nicci frowned, and reached over to his head. She scratched him behind the ears. Ethan growled contently. He stretched out his paws, and gave Arthas a smug look. Arthas snapped his teeth loudly.

Nicci put her head on Ethan's back, and sighed.

Soon, she was sound asleep. Ethan shifted under her, and looked at Arthas. Arthas was fidgeting. He was biting at his leg, and when he was done, Arthas stretched, and started licking himself in a place that Sapphire disapproved of Ethan licking. So she wouldn't approve of her father doing it.

"Stop that!" Ethan snapped.

Arthas lifted his head, and realized what he had been doing. "Oops..."

Ethan scratched his ear. "I think you gave me fleas too...You'd think these fleas would die in the snow."

"Undead fleas," Arthas said angrily.

Ethan snorted, and started biting his arm. He scratched, but stopped when Nicci made a noise and grabbed at his fur. The howling of the wind above was not letting up. Arthas laid down, burying his face in the snow. Drool dripped from his mouth.

The three of them laid in the hole for hours. Arthas and Ethan could not sleep, so they just lay there without talking.

Ethan sat there, frowning. He was staring at Arthas.

"What?" The white worgen asked, flicking his ears.

"Have you had sex with Nicci?" Ethan asked. Arthas raised his head. His eyes narrowed, and his lips curled up in anger.

"That's none of your-"

Ethan tilted his head, smiling. Arthas growled, and hit his paw on the snow.

"Yes, Light damn it. But...That was when I was the Lich King. I actually had, uh, sex with lots of women. Most were willing cultists though."

Ethan's ears perked up, and his eyes gleamed. "Oh, you're more of a dog than I am, aren't you?"

Arthas lunged at him. Nicci woke up in shock. Ethan was pinned to the snow, and he yelped in surprise. Arthas bit the soft bit of Ethan's throat, not enough to tear anything, but enough to hurt. Ethan whimpered.

Nicci glared at them. "What happened?"

Ethan squirmed under Arthas, and replied with a weak voice. "Dad just asserted his dominance as alpha male worgen and his right to mate with whatever female he wants without challenge."

Arthas leaned his full weight onto Ethan, and snarled. "Got that right, you son of a bitch."

Nicci rolled her eyes. "Men."

She laid back down onto the floor of the snow cave, and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"...I ought to kill you this second. How can you expect me to believe any of that?"<p>

Arthas had spent the last hour and a half listening to Sapphire. She had told him a lot of things, but kept certain things out. Like him murdering his father, committing mass genocide, and dying to an old man. She had told him he would be a powerful king, though she said not a word of him being the embodiment of pure evil. She said that she was his daughter. People worshiped him. In a creepy way.

"Yes. All you have to do...is listen to that sword. It will steer you onto the right path."

It was hard for Sapphire to say. She was basically encouraging Arthas to become the Lich King. But if she told him to toss the sword away and never kill anyone, the sword would probably tell him to kill her. At the moment, Sapphire wasn't up to defending herself against her own father.

"Really?" Arthas said, giving her a smirk. Sapphire felt like punching him in the face. He was not making it easier for her.

She gritted her teeth. "Yes...And when you are presented with a daughter, name her Sapphire. You can raise her however you want. Beat her, torture her, mentally scar her. Just don't kill her."

That took the man off guard, and he frowned. "Why would I kill my own child?"

"Trust me. She will make you want to. But if you kill her, you will die. Very painfully."

Arthas was thoughtful. Obviously, he had not yet killed Sapphire, so he must believe her. It wasn't that hard. Sapphire looked too much like him to not be related. Her father always said that she looked more like him than Jaina. Sapphire used to be offended by that, thinking he meant she looked like a man. Now, she knew what he meant. The way she held herself was the way Arthas did. Her voice was clearly accented like someone from Lordaeron, with a slight tone that bespoke she was royalty and knew it. Ethan called it the arrogant accent.

"Fine. Is that all you are here for?" Arthas demanded. He looked extremely confused. Sapphire supposed she would too if a grown woman came to her, claiming she was Calia, or Serenity. Sapphire would have freaked out. Arthas took it rather calmly.

"Pretty much...Oh, and if you see a dark-haired Alteracan boy hitting on your daughter, feel free to give him a hard time."


	14. Chapter 14

Okay...Rot has shown up, Terra has shown up, Arthas has shown up. Where is Lethumo (Oh wait...Don't review, Lethumo!), Ethan, Ni'kua, Nicci, Kel'thuzad...Or Jaina? Crazy as a crayfish Jaina?

A friend suggested I make a forum concerning the Scourge, Frozen Sapphire stories like Q&A with the author(Me!) and Arthas stuff. Your thoughts? If any of you are good at forum making and stuff, I would gladly give you permission to make it yourself if you want. I am clueless about stuff like that. PM me if you want. I answer most of the time.

* * *

><p>Ethan poked his head out of the snow, sniffing. He clambered out of the hole. The sun, surprisingly, was high in the sky. It felt rather warm, despite the snow. He reached down into the hole to help Nicci out. She slipped on the snow, but Ethan snatched at her robe's collar with his teeth. He pulled her up, and let her go.<p>

"Watch those teeth," Nicci snapped. Ethan's ears drooped.

"Sorry."

There was the sound of flapping wings. Ethan looked up, but the sun blinded him. He saw a blur, and felt talons tangle themselves into his fur.

Sapphire pecked at his ear, hooting happily. She rubbed her rounded head on top of his, and dug her feet into his shoulder.

"Sapphire! Are you okay?" Ethan asked, ignoring the sharp talons nicking his skin.

She turned back into her human form, while still on him. The sudden weight made Ethan collapse, spraying snow. Nicci giggled at the sight of Sapphire hugging Ethan as he struggled.

Arthas came crawling out of the snow, and shook himself. His tongue fell out of his mouth, and he started panting. He ran off without a word, running around in the snow. He fell onto the ground, and rolled around.

"What's with him?" Sapphire asked.

Nicci went toward Arthas.

He turned his head, and snarled at her. Lifting himself onto his back legs, he roared.

Making Sapphire slide off his back, Ethan jumped to his feet and jumped to Nicci's side, baring his teeth. He stood up on his legs, and curled his fingers. Arthas was bigger, more like a bear than a wolf. His muzzle was thick, and his blunter teeth was made for crushing. His paws were huge, as were his legs. Ethan was huge compared to Sapphire or Nicci, but puny to Arthas.

"Arthas!" Ethan growled. Ethan knew fully well that Arthas was bigger, stronger, and more aggressive than him. He was hoping to talk him down.

Arthas roared again.

Sapphire just pushed past Ethan and Nicci and went over to him.

"Dad...Down," She commanded, pointing at the ground. Arthas snarled, and approached her. Sapphire looked him in the eye.

Arthas bared his teeth, and sat down. He snapped at Sapphire, but the girl smacked him on the nose.

"Bad Arthas! Lay down."

Arthas did so, still angry. His ears were pressed up against his head, and his claws flexed.

"Come back. Now, or I will smack you again."

The worgen looked confused, then Arthas clutched his head.

"Oh...What happened?"

"You went feral for some reason, fuzzhead."

Ethan smiled. "Maybe I bit him too hard."

Arthas got up and snarled at Ethan. "You want me to bite you!"

"Boys! Shut up! We're stuck back in time and fighting will not help. Where's Tanomoan?"

A mound of snow moved, and a black, horned head poked out. "Right here...You woke me with all the yelling and the roaring. Can't you respect my beauty sleep?"

He crawled out, and pulled the Helm and the hourglass out with him. He shook himself, and spread out his wings. He yawned, and laid back down onto the snow. Snorting out a puff of fire from his nostrils, Tanomoan fell back asleep.

Sapphire strode over, and kicked him in the ribs. The dragon jumped. His eyes were wide, and frightened.

"Why'd you do that Momma?" He asked, changing his voice to a higher pitched voice, like a baby.

"Get off your butt. We need to find Jaina. Go up and fly around."

"But Momma-"

Sapphire folded her arms, and stared. Tanomoan whimpered, and dug his claws into the snow. His tail drooped. The dragon slunk away from Sapphire, and flew off. Soon he was nothing more than a speck in the sky.

Arthas rubbed his head. He looked at Sapphire.

"Where were you last night?" He suddenly growled.

Sapphire smiled. "Oh, I spent the night with an incredibly handsome man, and had a lot of fun despite the initial fear."

The way she said that made Ethan scowl.

"You did what now?"

With a whoosh of wings, Tanomoan dove back down at them and landed. He pointed. "Found her! I guess she was tired too."

* * *

><p>Jaina was curled up in the snow, as if dead. Arthas approached her warily. Sapphire had used magic to see if she was conscious and concluded that she wasn't. That didn't make Arthas any more at ease.<p>

He crawled over to her, and sniffed the woman's hair. He poked her with a claw. Upon seeing that she was not getting up, Arthas relaxed a bit more.

Ethan smiled. "Finally...Now we can get back home, put her in a padded, magically shielded room."

Tanomoan scratched the hourglass with his claws. "I don't know how this thing works...Magic is stupid."

He picked up the hourglass. Opening his mouth, he started chewing on it. His sharp teeth scraped the glass and metal on it loudly. Sapphire snatched it away from him.

"Stop it! You don't just put a magical object into your mouth! Might as well put the Helm in your mouth and lick it! I will figure out how to work it."

Tanomoan curled up into a ball, frightened. Sapphire stomped off. The dragon turned to look at the Helm. He stuck his tongue out, and approached it. Tanomoan licked it, and cried out. The sharp edges had cut his tongue.

"Owwww! Ow, Ow, Ow, ow! I'm bleeding! Oh, I am going to die," Tanomoan squealed. Blood dripped onto the snow, turning it red. Tanomoan fell to the ground, and rolled around in agony.

Sapphire turned around to tell the dragon to stop being so immature, when she felt something. It made her whip around to Arthas.

"Dad-"

The snow around both him and Jaina exploded, and there was the sound of a fireball. Sapphire heard Arthas cry out in pain.

Spikes of ice rose up out of the ground. Ethan pushed Nicci out of the way, and quickly lunged at Jaina. The mage turned him into a small, fluffy puppy. It barked in protest, large green eyes looking at Sapphire. Sapphire quickly summoned up a ball of fire in her hand, and put it underneath the hourglass.

"Mom! Stand down or I break it!" Sapphire yelled.

Jaina stopped, and looked at her.

"You won't. We would be stuck in the past forever!"

Sapphire narrowed her eyes. "I'm serious. I don't give a shit if we are stuck here. I have my husband, my father, and a woman that raised me that isn't you. My children will be fine. Time will flow, and I will see them again. The best part? I don't age as quickly as you will."

Jaina looked at the hourglass, hesitating. The puppy quickly turned back into Ethan.

Arthas stood up, shaking himself off. His fur was slightly burnt. He did not look very happy. Tanomoan, still bleeding from his tongue, went over to his mother.

"Can I tie her up?"


	15. Chapter 15

Good news and bad news. My grandmother just passed away, and a friend's father went too. Don't worry...I'm fine. I've had plenty of hugs and condolences.

The good news now. My book is in review. In 12 hours, it should be available. :) It's $2.99, but non-Americans can buy the equivalent of it. :D It's called "Extract of Dolphin." PM me if you have any questions. Rot...or Wendel in this case...is in it! He is at the end though, and he'll have more to do in the sequel. Lethumo is in it, but he has a small part. There's a new character taking his place and this character is cuter, funnier, and definitely more charming. As for Sapphire's father...I won't spoil anything. Ethan is no longer the Dog. He's got a new nickname after a type of animal. It's similar to the Dog. And I think twice as cute.

* * *

><p>Marwyn was hugging Rot so tightly that the poor plaguehounds eyes were bulging out. His paws flailed uselessly.<p>

"Don't worry, Rot. I'll protect you from all of the horrible mortals."

They had returned to Icecrown Citadel to see it in ruins. Undead were killing and ripping each other apart. Deathknight charged on their horses, cutting down an endless amount of undead. Kel'thuzad had been command of all of the loyal undead, trying to crush all of the savage ones.

Sapphire and Ethan's children had gone to Stormwind. Anduin had offered to take them in, and now Marwyn was sitting in Stormwind Keep, posing as an Ebon Blade Knight. It was hot, being summer. If Marwyn could sweat, he would have been soaked. It was still uncomfortable. He was watching mortals walking around, and was glad he wasn't feeling murderous that day. Even worse, Darion Morgraine had shown up, and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"So, Marwyn. What happened to you and Nicci? Didn't perform to her standards?" The Highlord joked, coming up to him.

Marwyn frowned. "Don't you have some children to terrorize?"

"Don't you? Where are the little Menethil brats?"

Rot squirmed in Marwyn's grip, whining. The deathknight ignored him.

"Terenas is busy admiring shiny Stormwind guard armor, Serenity is cuddling with Blight who seemed a bit smothered, and Arty is playing with his dog and some random pug thing. Angelica is out looking at dresses with Autum, Falric's wife."

"Wait...Isn't there one more of them?" Darion said, scowling.

Marwyn frowned. "Yes. Calia...She's right behind you."

The Highlord turned around. The girl gave him a defiant look. "I could have killed you if I wanted."

Darion quickly looked at Marwyn for an explanation. Not receiving one, Darion glowered at the child. Calia smiled shyly, and hugged Darion's leg. The deathknight pried her off of him, and pushed her away. Calia was persistent, and grasped the deathknight's arm tightly.

"Can you teach me how to use a sword. Please? Pretty please? Please, please..." Calia said the word over and over. Darion snatched his arm away from her and covered his ears.

"Light, she's even more annoying than her mother."

Marwyn smiled. "She has a crush on you."

Calia gasped. "Do not! Ew!"

The deathknight stuck his tongue at her. "Yes, you do!"

"Not uh!"

"Yeah huh!" Marwyn snarled.

"Not uh!" Calia hissed, and kicked the deathknight in the shin. Since he was not wearing armor, Marwyn yelped and dropped Rot. The plaguehound hit the ground with a crunched, but hopped up unharmed. The puppy fled in terror, not wishing to be hugged again.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!" Marwyn said, clutching his shin. The girl fled.

"I find her cute after that," Darion said, grinning.

Marwyn sighed. "At least you have someone that likes you...I don't have anyone."

Darion backhanded the deathknight. Marwyn fell to the ground. He looked up angrily.

"What was that for?"

"You're a deathknight, you idiot. You have gotten soft...Let's go see if we can't make you a real man again."

Marwyn scowled. "Uh...How do we do that?"

Darion laughed darkly, and grabbed the Scourge deathknight. They went off. Calia watched them walk away from where she had hid, and followed.

* * *

><p>Sapphire was hungry.<p>

Sitting in a large snow cave that Ethan had sniffed out, Sapphire was left with only Nicci, Tanomoan, and Jaina as company. Jaina had an anti-magic spell on her, so even Tanomoan could catch her if she escaped. There were no ropes to tie her up, much to the black dragon's disappointment.

Tanomoan was curled up in a ball, whining at his still hurt tongue.

Sapphire groaned at the noise. "Tanomoan...that's what happens when you lick things you shouldn't."

"Momma...My tongue hurts. Can't you be a little nicer?" The dragon asked, sniffling. Tears welled up in his yellow eyes. Sapphire leaned over, and kissed him on the snout.

"Poor baby."

Tanomoan nuzzled Sapphire enthusiastically, and rolled over onto his back. He planted his head on Sapphire's lap. Sapphire took that as a sign, and scratched his chin. The dragon purred.

Sapphire picked up the hourglass and examined it.

"Tanomoan, where'd you get this anyway?"

The dragon perked up. "Why, from a bronze dragon of course!"

Sapphire scowled. "Well, we're taking it back once we're home."

"Aw, but Momma!" Tanomoan pouted.

Jaina looked up. "Sure, Sapphire...Let Tanomoan go to the present still being the last of his kind."

Sapphire looked over at her mother. "What do you mean?"

"Back in this day, there might actually be black dragon eggs still viable. A couple would not be missed."

That made Sapphire think. She hadn't thought of that. There would be no more black dragons after Tanomoan. If they found a female dragon egg, it would be better than nothing. Blight was the only twilight dragon, but he had said himself once that it was better that there were no more. Not all black dragons had been bad. Tanomoan looked up at her with bright eyes. He smiled.

"Please, Momma?"

Sapphire opened her mouth, but before she could answer, Ethan and Arthas came back. Ethan carried some wood, and Arthas was dragging a dead deer by the leg. He let go of it, and looked at Sapphire with a bloodied face.

"Hungry?"

* * *

><p>Marwyn looked at the mug of ale in front of him. He sighed, and pushed it away.<p>

Darion had led him to a tavern, pushing him down at the counter and ordering the Scourge deathknight alcohol. Both of them sat there. Calia sat in between them, with a glass of milk.

"Why can't I have ale?"

"Because you can't."

Calia sighed, and followed Marwyn's example of pushing the glass away. She laid her head on the counter-top. Then, she looked at Darion.

"Will you marry me?"

Darion sneered at her. "No."

"Why not?" Calia complained. She pouted.

"I'm not a pedophile."

"What's that?" She asked. Marwyn gasped when Darion opened his mouth to answer. The Scourge Deathknight quickly put his hands over Calia's ears.

"Don't tell her what that is! She's only six!"

Darion growled. "Well, tell her not to ask me to marry her!"

Marwyn picked up Calia, who protested. "You are horrible. It's just a little crush. Come on, Calia. We need to go back to your siblings."

He stood up, and turned around. He nearly dropped Calia when he bumped into a woman.

She was as tall as him, with bushy red hair and a heavily freckled face. Marwyn stared hard at her tanned skin. She was one of the waitresses of the tavern, with a ruffled blouse that showed a lot of her chest. The only person in Northrend that showed that much skin was Sapphire, who was unaffected by the cold. The woman's skirt barely reached her knees.

Marwyn forced himself to look up to the woman's eyes. She was smiling.

"Hello. Is she yours?"

Marwyn stared uncomprehendingly, until Calia bit his hand. Then he stammered.

"Yes, she...No, she's my sister...sister's daughter. She's actually my niece. Uh. My name is...Uh. My name..." Marwyn struggled.

Darion elbowed him hard, and answered for the deathknight. "His name is Marwyn."

"I'm Mary."

Darion took Calia, and paid for his ale. "I'm going to go get this little rat some candy. Good luck, Marwyn."


	16. Chapter 16

Yay! Three people bought my book! I can't even begin to express my happiness. :) I'm going to start looking up how to make a facebook page for it.

And sorry about the wait. Writer's block, Christmas, emotional turmoil, and sickness all combined to keep me away. I'm working on it. On the plus side, I drew a deathknight baby chicken. You can see him on my deviantart. His name is Peeps the Deathbringer! Fear him. Thinking about doing a better Rot picture.

* * *

><p><em>Sapphire was hiding.<em>

_Blood covered her hands, and the floor in front of her exposed her location. She didn't know where she was. It seemed like she was in Icecrown Citadel. The harsh metal walls and floor were very familiar. She was underneath a wooden table, hidden under the shadows.  
><em>

_Footsteps boomed in the corridor. Sapphire had trouble breathing. She was terrified, and she did not even know why.  
><em>

_There was a growl, and Sapphire saw large white paws come over and stop at the table. A muzzle sniffed the bloodied floor. Then, the table was thrown away totally._

_Arthas roared in anger. His body was rotten, half of his head showing exposed bone. His organs hung out from a hole in his stomach. Sapphire screamed, and tried to run. She stood up, and twisted around to run._

_She looked at herself. The other Sapphire had glowing blue eyes, and her skin was dead grey. She was wearing deathknight armor. To Sapphire's horror, Frostmourne was clutched in her dead twin's hand. Sapphire gasped, but her undead counterpart grabbed her, and shoved Frostmourne into Sapphire's chest._

* * *

><p>Sapphire woke up screaming, which caused everyone to jump to their feet, eyes snapping open. Sapphire saw all of them, but all she could think about was seeing herself an undead. She looked around the cave, and saw a tiny hole inbetween two columns of ice. Sapphire bolted for it before anyone could do anything. She curled up into the hole and started sobbing. Outside, the rest were talking.<p>

Ethan had crawled over to her, and tried to coax her out.

"Sapphire...It's okay. You're okay. Come on out."

Sapphire cried.

"How long has this been going on?" Sapphire heard Arthas ask.

"Since you died again. It comes and goes."

Sapphire looked up, and saw Arthas stick his head into the hole's entrance.

"Sapphire...I'm fine. You are okay. I'm alive."

"But what if next time you die for good? I can't live without you Daddy..." She laid her head down, and rubbed her eyes.

Arthas retreated, and leaned back. Ethan whined.

"I think Sapphire is suffering a relapse. The first time, Sapphire was all alone and nearly lost her sanity. Having you die again must be traumatizing to her."

Sapphire sniffled, and angrily snapped. "I am right here, you know."

They ignored her. She heard a funny noise, and looked up in surprise. A baby black fox with glowing yellow eyes sat in front of her. It barked squeakily. The fox went over to her, and cuddled up against her.

"Thanks, Tanomoan."

The fox licked her face, then looked over at the two worgen talking about Sapphire. It made a loud screaming noise at them. Sapphire flinched, and the two worgen's ears perked up in surprise.

Tanomoan laid down, and started licking himself. Sapphire pulled him into her arms, and squeezed him hard. Tanomoan screamed and turned into a turtle. Sapphire let him go, and the turtle turned into a rabbit. He ran out of the hole, an angry look on his face.

Sapphire looked over to her father.

"Dad, I think there is one more time that we need to go."

Arthas looked at her hard. They seemed to share some secret. "That might get us all killed."

"I...I have to do it."

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, Sapphire and Arthas were alone. Both had stolen some deathknight armor.<p>

A dark shadow was looming over them. A frostwrym roared in the distance. Chunks of ice rose up from the ground to form imposing blue, white and purple cliffs. Harsh black rocks exposed themselves from the snow and ice.

"I can't believe I'm doing this. This is something young idiots do."

Sapphire scowled at her father. "You aren't that old. And you are still an idiot."

He grabbed her by the cloak, and pulled her into a hug. "That's right. And you're the daughter of an idiot."

Sapphire hugged him tightly, then pushed him aside.

"Okay. Now we have to be heartless deathknights to get inside. You disgust me," Sapphire snarled. Arthas folded his arms, giving her a skeptical look.

"Wow. I felt the hatred in that."

Sapphire copied his pose. "Wow, you're a jerk."

Arthas took Sapphire's hood, and pushed it over her face. Sapphire yelped, and lifted it back up. Arthas strode to the large wall of saronite in front of them.

Sapphire straightened her armor, and followed him. She looked up at the saronite wall. It rose up out of the ice with its sharp edges, and spiked top.

"I forget what Corp'rethar looked like intact."

Arthas nodded. "And you mostly looked at it from the inside...you know. When I allowed you outside."

The two went through the entrance. Barely any undead walked in the courtyard of Icecrown Citadel. Sapphire had not seen a lot in the valley either. She wondered if they had arrived at the best time. Arthas might still be on the Frozen Throne, sound asleep. Then Sapphire couldn't face him. That had been the only reason her father had agreed to the venture.

Besides Corp'rethar, Icecrown Citadel looked like the present one. A few towers had been added, that was it. Sapphire looked around curiously at the past Icecrown Citadel. She saw a few gargoyles, but that was it.

"Uh...Dad? Where are all of the undead?"

Arthas scowled, looking one way, and then another. "I am not sure. Here, let's go up the steps. I don't remember being so lax in my security like this."

They went up the stairs, wary. Sapphire wished Ethan had come with them, but he and Nicci had to watch after Jaina and Tanomoan. Tanomoan had licked the Helm of Domination again, with the same result of a bleeding tongue. The Helm was on Sapphire's belt, carefully hidden, but Tanomoan could hurt himself with a blanket. And Jaina had been looking at them all hatefully. Sapphire had to make extra anti-magic spell over Jaina.

Sapphire felt something in the back of her mind, and when they got to the top of the stairs, she realized that had been a warning.

A line of deathknights stood there, waiting for them.


End file.
